53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam
25 January – 4 February 2024

Rotterdam, 18 December 2023

During today’s press conference, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) revealed the films selected for the Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competitions at the festival’s 53rd edition.

As previously announced, Head South by Jonathan Oglivie opens the festival on Thursday 25 January. The film bringing the festival to a close is now also unveiled: the European premiere of M. Raihan Halim’s La Luna, a sharp comedy about a conservative Malaysian village shaken by the arrival of a lingerie store. 

The first distinguished names in the Talks lineup are also confirmed: Marco Bellocchio, Anne Fontaine, Alexander Kluge and Rachel Maclean.

Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic: “As the journey into IFFR 2024 begins, it is my absolute pleasure to share with you this year’s lineup. For over half a century, IFFR has stood as a haven for diverse voices – a convergence where artists share perspectives. Our programme celebrates the resilience and creativity of global filmmakers, a testament to cinema's power to transcend borders. From Indian to Japanese epics, a Kazakh thriller, Finnish Freudian reinterpretations, Dominican sci-fi, and underground Iranian cinema, this selection invites you to dive in and immerse yourself. See you in January!”

IFFR’s frontrunning Tiger Competition is the festival’s platform for emerging film talent and features a selection of 14 titles in 2024. The Tiger Competition Jury for 2024 is Marco Müller, Ena Sendijarević, Nadia Turincev, Herman Yau and Billy Woodberry, who are set to choose the winners of the Tiger Award, worth €40,000, and two Special Jury Awards, worth €10,000 each. 

• The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, 2024, United States, world premiere
• Flathead, Jaydon Martin, 2024, Australia, world premiere
  
• Grey Bees, Dmytro Moiseiev, 2024, Ukraine, world premiere
  
• Kiss Wagon, Midhun Murali, 2024, India, world premiere
  
• Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others, Farshad Hashemi, 2024, Iran, Germany, Czech Republic, world premiere
  
• Moses, Jenni Luhta, Lauri Luhta, 2024, Finland, world premiere
  
• La Parra, Alberto Gracia, 2024, Spain, world premiere
  
• Praia Formosa, Julia De Simone, 2024, Brazil, Portugal, world premiere
  
• Rei, Tanaka Toshihiko, 2024, Japan, world premiere
  
• Reise der Schatten, Yves Netzhammer, 2024, Switzerland, world premiere
  
• She Fell to Earth, Susie Au, 2024, Hong Kong, world premiere
  
• sr, Lea Hartlaub, 2024, Germany, world premiere
  
• Swimming Home, Justin Anderson, 2024, United Kingdom, world premiere
  
• Under a Blue Sun, Daniel Mann, 2024, France, Israel, world premiere
  

The Tiger Competition selection 2024 is now online. Click here to browse.

^{Clockwise, stills from the films: La Parra, Praia Formosa, She Fell to Earth, Swimming Home}

The Big Screen Competition offers a wide-ranging selection, bridging the gap between popular, classic and arthouse cinema features. 12 titles have been selected for IFFR 2024. IFFR invites an audience jury to grant the VPRO Big Screen Award. The winning film receives a guaranteed theatrical release in the Netherlands and will be broadcast on Dutch TV by VPRO and NPO. In addition, a €30,000 prize is awarded, equally shared between the filmmaker and the distributor who releases the film.

• Aire: Just Breathe, Leticia Tonos Paniagua, 2024, Dominican Republic, Spain world premiere
• Children of War and Peace, Ville Suhonen, 2024, Finland, world premiere
  
• Confidenza, Daniele Luchetti, 2024, Italy, world premiere
  
• Eternal, Ulaa Salim, 2024, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, world premiere
  
• Milk Teeth, Sophia Bösch, 2024, Germany, Switzerland, world premiere
  
• The Old Bachelor, Oktay Baraheni, 2024, Iran, world premiere
  
• Portrait of a Certain Orient, Marcelo Gomes, 2024, Brazil, Italy, Lebanon, world premiere
  
• Seven Seas Seven Hills, Ram, 2024, India, world premiere
  
• Steppenwolf, Adilkhan Yerzhanov, 2024, Kazakhstan, world premiere
  
• Tenement, Inrasothythep Neth, Sokyou Chea, 2024, Cambodia, world premiere
  
• The Worst Man in London, Rodrigo Areias, 2024, Portugal, world premiere
  
• Yohanna, Robby Ertanto, 2024, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Italy, world premiere
  

The Big Screen Competition selection 2024 is now online. Click here to browse.

^{Clockwise, stills from the films: Eternal, Milk Teeth, Steppenwolf, Seven Seas Seven Hills}

IFFR announces 21 short films selected for the Tiger Short Competition. The jury consists of  Mónica Lima, Yasmina Price and Jade Wiseman, who will choose the winners of three Tiger Short Awards, each worth €5,000.

Tiger Short Competition 2024 selection

• 3 MWh, Marie-Magdalena Kochová, 2024, Czech Republic, world premiere
• 6000 mensonges, Simon Rieth, 2024, France, world premiere
  
• Break no.1 & Break no.2., Lei Lei, 2024, China, world premiere
  
• Crazy Lotus, Naween Noppakun, 2024, Thailand, world premiere
  
• Daphne was a torso ending in leaves, Catriona Gallagher, 2023, Italy, Greece world premiere (festival)
  
• Digital Devil Saga, Cameron Worden, 2024, United States, world premiere
  
• Los dos lados de la tortuga, Oscar Illingworth, 2024, Ecuador, world premiere
  
• Few Can See, Frank Sweeney, 2023, Ireland, world premiere (festival)
  
• Flatastic, Alice Saey, 2024, France, Netherlands, world premiere
  
• Flower Show, Elli Vuorinen, 2024, Finland, world premiere
  
• History Is Written at Night, Alejandro Alonso Estrella, 2024, Cuba, France world premiere
  
• I Would Rather Be a Stone, Ana Hušman, 2024, Croatia, world premiere
  
• Like a Sick Yellow, Norika Sefa, 2024, Kosovo, world premiere
  
• Petticoat Fire, Mox Mäkelä, 2024, Finland, world premiere
• Potenciais à deriva, Leonardo Pirondi, 2024, Brazil, United States, world premiere
  
• Teen Girl Fantasy, Marisa Hoicka, 2024, Canada, world premiere
  
• Terminal Island, Sam Drake, 2024, United States, world premiere
  
• To Exist Under Permanent Suspicion, Valentin Noujaïm, 2024, France, world premiere
  
• Void, Iwasaki Yusuke, 2024, Japan, world premiere
  
• The Watchman, Ali Cherri, 2024, Italy, France, world premiere
  
• Workers' Wings, Ilir Hasanaj, 2024, Kosovo, Switzerland, world premiere
  

The Tiger Short Competition selection 2024 is now online. Click here to browse.

^{Clockwise, stills from the films: 3 MWh, 6000 mensonges, Crazy Lotus, Digital Devil saga}

Each edition, IFFR presents a Talks programme that aims to inspire – providing fresh perspectives and profound insights into the world of filmmaking. 

This year's lineup features luminaries such as Marco Bellocchio (Rapito, Limelight); Rachel Maclean, one of this edition’s artists in Focus; Alexander Kluge (Cosmic Miniatures, Harbour); and Anne Fontaine (Boléro, Limelight), who each will discuss their remarkable careers.

The full Talks lineup will be announced in the second week of January.

The European premiere of  M. Raihan Halim’s La Luna will bring IFFR 2024 to a lively close. The film playfully pits religious orthodoxy against liberal values when a traditional Malaysian village is shaken up by the arrival of an upscale lingerie store. 

The project was supported by the Wouter Barendrecht Award given at the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum, an award that IFFR also presents to projects at CineMart, in honour of the late IFFR programmer and former head of CineMart.  

As previously announced, Jonathan Ogilvie’s spirited post-punk coming-of-age comedy Head South will open the festival on Thursday 25 January 2024. 

At 14.00 today, 18 December, the general sale begins for the opening film, as well as many more IFFR 2024 events and specials. Tickets are already on sale for the VPRO Preview and Review Days, and the Volkskrantdag. Check all the IFFR Specials here.

Ticket sales for the rest of the programme will begin a week earlier than in 2023, starting Thursday 11 January for IFFR donors (Pioneers, Visionaries and Fellows), Tiger Members, Tiger Members Supreme, Tiger Members Under-23 and accredited guests, followed by the general sale beginning the next day, Friday 12 January at 20.00. 

Check the IFFR 2024 programme here, which includes the latest lineups in Bright Future, Harbour, Limelight, Cinema Regained, Art Directions and more. 

Click here to see previous press releases. For press inquiries, media and interview requests, please reach out to the IFFR Press team at [email protected].

Applications for press and industry accreditation are still open and should be made before Saturday 23 December to guarantee processing. 

Click here for the stills