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

Rotterdam, 30 January 2024

Seven awards were handed out to projects presented at the 41st edition of IFFR’s co-production market CineMart during the IFFR Pro Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 30 January, which was co-hosted together with Catalan Films. The winners were selected from the 16 features and 4 immersive projects in development presented at CineMart alongside the 4 features and 2 immersive projects nearing completion that participated in the second edition of the Darkroom work-in-progress programme.

Head of IFFR Pro (a.i.) Alessia Acone: “The variety of projects on offer at our co-production market has never been richer, not only in terms of the diversity of stories and their countries of origin, but also in their mediums and production stages. Our immersive media projects have become a vital part of the market, as has Darkroom which returned this year to offer a crucial forum for works-in-progress as they near completion. In the ever-evolving landscape of film and media, IFFR Pro is a platform tuned into the needs of the industry, one that fosters the avant-garde, the visionary and the groundbreaking. We thank all of our partners for their support that allows this to happen.”

^{IFFR Pro 2024 winners}

The IFFR Pro Days 2024 officially conclude on Wednesday 31st January, following a full programme that included welcoming over 100 emerging professionals for four talent development initiatives: Rotterdam Lab, Creative Producer Indaba, BoostNL and Launchpad. For the first time, five producers were selected for Rotterdam Lab from an open call which sought to further expand the plurality of voices, background and experience within the cohort, bringing the group to 70 producers. 

The Pro Hub presented nine different Pro Dialogues industry panels that explored issues facing filmmakers and the industry, from impact producing (together with ACE Producers) to African film criticism and genre filmmaking. The Hubert Bals Fund was active throughout the festival, running a closed think tank and offering advice and informal guidance to filmmaking talent. 

4DR Studios Award

4DR Studios is a volumetric video capture studio based in Eindhoven that facilitates the possibility of capturing every detail of human movements and emotions for interactive stories like games, augmented reality and VR. Representatives present the 4DR Studios Award to an outstanding immersive project presented at CineMart, which receives an in-kind studio or workshop prize. 

Winner: The World Came Flooding In, dir. Isobel Knowles & Van Sowerwine, Australia.
Produced by: Film Camp

Jury statement: “The project the jury chose is making use of VR in a very uncomplicated and straightforward way while simultaneously creating a space and place for profound human needs like the healing of trauma. The jury would love to see how the capture of real humans in 3D could add to this body of work.”

Jury: Steye Hallema and Natasja Paulssen

ArteKino International Award

The ArteKino International Award is a prize of €6,000 for the producer of a standout project to support its development, sponsored by the European culture channel ARTE’s foundation for the promotion of arthouse cinema. 

Winner: A Distant House Smokes on the Horizon, dir. Shengze Zhu, China, United States. Produced by: Burn The Film, supported by the Hubert Bals Fund for development 

Jury statement: “We were all impressed by the clarity of the director’s intentions, who is not afraid of tackling a sensitive subject, and fictionalising research material on tragic real events. We liked the director’s ideas for the cinematography and felt like she will hold up a mirror to a society scandalised by the violence it has itself produced.”

Jury: Julie Savary, Marcel Wijninga and Meng Xie

Eurimages New Lab Awards
Eurimages is the cultural fund of the Council of Europe dedicated to supporting independent filmmaking. This edition marked the launch of two new Eurimages New Lab Awards: an Innovation Award worth €20,000 for projects in development to promote experimentation – and an Outreach Award worth €30,000 for work-in-progress projects to promote audience outreach.

Winner Eurimages New Lab Award – Outreach: 
Duchampiana, dir. Lilian Hess, France, Germany. Produced by: Tchikiboum

Jury statement: “For its use of body movement, combined with new immersive technologies in order to evoke a sense of freedom and rebirth, interrogating a classical piece of artwork through a feminist practice, as well as its original outreach strategy, the  Eurimages New Lab Award – Outreach goes to Duchampiana by Lilian Hess.”

Winner Eurimages New Lab Award – Innovation: 
Cherub, dir. Barbara Rupik, Poland. Produced by: Madants

Jury statement: “For its innovative approach in forging an original and inventive artistic practice to weave a narrative intertwining rural folklore with elements of genre, to illustrate a universal tale, created by an emerging visual artist whose handcrafted animation style has the intention and potential for international cooperation the Eurimages New Lab Award – Innovation goes to Cherub by Barbara Rupik.”

Jury: Elena Kotová, Nathalie Mierop and Jamie Weiss 

Filmmore Post-production Award

Amsterdam-based Filmmore is a leading full-service post-production, editing and visual effects facility. With the Filmmore Post-production Award they offer the best-suited CineMart project €7,500 worth of in-kind support. 

Winner: Les Diplomates, dir. Andreas Fontana, Switzerland, United Kingdom. Produced by: Alina Film

Jury statement: “What should be the image of a new country? The jury was taken by the setting of this story as a backdrop for the love-hate relationship between two men. Image building is everything and the filming of the space, the environment, will reflect a battle between two men and their two countries in a European historical context.” 

Jury: Julie Savary, Marcel Wijninga and Meng Xie 

Wouter Barendrecht Award

This prize of €5,000 is awarded in partnership with the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation in honour of the late founder and co-chairman of Fortissimo Films, IFFR programmer and former head of CineMart, Wouter Barendrecht. Eligible for the award are projects with a director under 40 who has not directed more than three films. The award is given three times a year, at the festivals in Rotterdam, Jerusalem and Hong Kong. 

Winner: Cherub, dir. Barbara Rupik, Poland. Produced by: Madants

Jury statement: “The jury decided on a project from a talented director with an impressive visual language as proven in the previous work. The sheer beauty of the work, the imagination, the creation of a fascinating world of its own mesmerised the jury.”

Jury: Ellis Driessen and Nelleke Driessen

VIPO Award

The Visual Industry Promotion Organization works to make Japan’s content industry internationally competitive by connecting and expanding businesses and opportunities. Brand new for 2023, VIPO sponsors an award of €3,000 given to an outstanding project of their choice. 

Winner: Alumbre, dir. Alejandro Telémaco Tarraf, Spain. Produced by: Zeitun Films

Jury statement: “Reality and spirituality are well matched in the deep forest setting. The theme of becoming a new being by accepting one's pain is unique. The film contains many abstract elements, but they were incorporated into a concrete presentation.” 

Jury: Mika Morishita, Kousuke Ono and Yoshi Yatabe

For concept images of the projects click here.

^{Stills from the CineMart projects}