INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM UNVEILS NEW SPECIAL GUESTS FOR ITS 2025 TALKS LINE-UP

Rotterdam – 15 January 2025 – International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has announced new guests across its line-up of Talks for the upcoming 54th edition of the festival, taking place from 30 January - 9 February. IFFR will present two distinct strands of conversations: Big Talks, featuring dialogues between world-renowned minds from diverse disciplines and Tiger Talks, offering explorations of film-related themes and addressing issues including feminism, the legacy of colonialism, and cinema's sociopolitical role. 

Additional talks will take place during the RTM Day, IFFR’s programme dedicated to Rotterdam on 31 January, Furthermore, the IFFR Pro Dialogues programme of industry-focussed discussions will be held during the IFFR Pro Days, running between 31 January - 5 February. 

Also during the festival, IFFR will welcome further special guests to present their titles in selection, including Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine as Light), Jan-Willem van Ewijk (Alpha.), Uberto Pasolini (The Return), Matthieu Delaporte (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo), Julie Gayet (Six jours), Albert Serra (Tardes de soledad), Lou Ye (An Unfinished Film) and Wang Bing (Youth: Trilogy).

Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR, said: “IFFR each year creates a space to bring  people together in discovery and dialogue. We spotlight leading and emerging creators with fresh perspectives, unique vantage points, or particular expertise to share with our audiences and delegates - giving a platform to new ideas. Our team has curated an exciting and eclectic mix of speakers from Japanese filmmaking legend Miike Takashi to Alex Ross Perry, whose new work forms part of our Focus Programme on VHS culture. With Big Talks anchored around individual creatives and their practise, and focussed Tiger Talks which give a chance to examine nuanced topics together - we are excited to welcome audiences back.” 

The new guests joining the Big Talks offering include Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer Costa Gavras, and Miike Takashi, one of Japan’s most prolific and acclaimed filmmakers. Miike’s presence in Rotterdam is particularly significant, as IFFR played a key role in propelling him to international fame. These latest names join previously announced Big Talk speakers, including the legendary filmmakers Albertina Carri and Cheryl Dunye, renowned for their daring explorations of unconventional narratives and complex identities.

Meanwhile, Tiger Talks, which will be held across a conference format on Sunday 2 February and throughout the festival, will explore topics including ‘Cinema and the Rise of Authoritarianism’, ‘Depicting Nightlife’’ and ‘True Crime’. The strand will also feature sessions with IFFR 2025’s Artists in Focus, exploring the history of women in film with Katja Raganelli, the interplay between history, archives and fiction with Timoteus Anggawan Kusno & Matthew Lax, and the socio-political evolution of Ukraine with Sergii Masloboishchykov – the first Ukrainian filmmaker to appear in competition at IFFR in 1995 and returning for this edition with the international premiere of Yasa.

Additionally, Saeed Nouri will share rare excerpts from 1940s-60s Iranian popular cinema to accompany the world premiere of his film Tehran, An Unfinished History, and filmmaker Jessica Sarah Rinland and art historian Sophie Berrebi will discuss how utilitarian photography and film challenge conventional notions of representation and knowledge. This year, Art Directions features a special programme of films and a conversation with renowned artist Amie Siegel followed by the screening of her works Panorama and Bloodlines.

The Tiger Talk Cinema and the Rise of Authoritarianism, presented also as one of the IFFR Pro Dialogues industry discussions, will be hosted together with the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk, of which IFFR is a founding member together with IDFA and the European Film Academy, and welcomes Mohammad Rasoulof, Albertina Carri, Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Erhan Örs and further speakers to be confirmed.

The RTM programme will centre artists and stories from within the city with an impact far beyond. As part of the programme, the three RTM talks will include a conversation between Ine Lamers and Sam Koopman; collaboration between IFFR and Rotterdam Writers’ Room, which will feature a deep dive into the writing process of Drie dagen vis with writer/director Peter Hoogendoorn; and a speculation into the city of Rotterdam with in ‘Imagine the City Otherwise’ talk. 

Held during the festival’s professionals’ programme IFFR Pro Days, the IFFR Pro Dialogues will invite meaningful and practical reflection on issues facing the film industry, with speakers including notable filmmakers, festival programmers, and other special guests. As filmmakers worldwide confront growing challenges to their creative, political, and financial freedoms amidst a climate of repression, historical erasure, and threats to free expression, IFFR Pro Dialogues will host a number of incisive talks discussing these issues. 

New this year to the IFFR Pro programme is a series of intimate Meet the Expert sessions featuring names including experienced international producers Alex Boden, Bianca Balbuena and script-consultant Claire Dobbin, who will share practical and insightful reflections on their practices to IFFR Pro delegates. 

The full line-up of Talks is as follows:

BIG TALKS

Alex Ross Perry

One of the most uncompromising artists working in independent cinema today, Alex Ross Perry reflects on his inspirations and creative journey.

Cate Blanchett & Guy Maddin

Cate Blanchett and Guy Maddin will come together for an expansive dialogue about their creative collaboration on Rumours, the role of film festivals, the enduring power of the short film form and other topics.

Cheryl Dunye & Albertina Carri

Award-winning trailblazers Albertina Carri and Cheryl Dunye share their vast experiences in radical queer filmmaking.  

Costa Gavras & Sungji Oh

Filmmaker Costa-Gavras and curator Sungji Oh discuss how archival film practices shape our cultural memories.

Miike Takashi & Saka Misako

Miike Takashi delves into his philosophy on the art and craft of filmmaking. He'll be joined by legendary producer Misako Saka, who has accompanied and facilitated this extraordinary journey.

Steffen Haars & Joseph Kahn

Dive into the varied oeuvres and unlikely career paths of filmmakers Joseph Kahn and Steffen Haars.

TIGER TALKS 

Bloodlines + Live Talk with Amie Siegel

Following a journey through the paintings of George Stubbs, Amie Siegel’s Bloodlines reveals connections between art, people. After the screening, artist and filmmaker Siegel will discuss her artistic practice and approach to working variously with film, video, photography, sculpture, painting and installation.

Cinema and the Rise of Authoritarianism

Filmmakers facing incursions on their freedoms share insights on maintaining their creativity in times of censorship and repression.

Depicting Nightlife

From raves to silent discos, how do IFFR filmmakers celebrate nightlife culture on the big screen.

Futurisms

Innovative multidisciplinary artist Omar Rodríguez-López explores the art of transcending genres and formats.

Hold Video in Your Hands

IFFR filmmakers and programmers reminisce and consider how VHS forever changed our engagement with film. 

Jessica Sarah Rinland & Sophie Berrebi

Filmmaker Jessica Sarah Rinland and art historian Sophie Berrebi discuss archives, collections and the reliability of visual documents.

Matthew Lax & Timoteus Anggawan Kusno

IFFR 2025 Artists in Focus Timoteus Anggawan Kusno and Matthew Lax discuss their respective artistic practices.

Robby Müller Award – Lol Crawley

Recipient of the sixth Robby Müller Award, Lol Crawley BSC discusses his extensive oeuvre.

Rules of the Game

What are the underlying rules for filmmakers working at the intersections of gaming and filmmaking cultures.

Sergii Masloboishchykov and the Evolution of Ukraine Through His Cinema

The first Ukrainian filmmaker to appear in competition at IFFR in 1995, Sergii Masloboishchykov returns with a 13-film retrospective.

The History of Pre-revolutionary Iranian Cinema

Saeed Nouri (Tehran, An Unfinished History, 2025) shares rare excerpts from 1940s-60s Iranian popular cinema. 

Through Cinema We Shall Rise!

Researchers and a filmmaker trace the Afro-Asian Film Festival’s history, exploring articulations of the ‘Bandung Spirit’.

True Crime

How can stories of true crime be responsibly and sensitively brought to the screen and airwaves featuring Fabrice du Welz, director of Maldoror (Limelight) and Annegriet Wietsma, creator of the Deventer Mediazaak podcast. 

Women in Film - The Katja Raganelli Method

Katja Raganelli shares how her 30-year œuvre of documentaries and portraits came to be. 

RTM TALKS

RTM Talk x Rotterdam Writers' Room: All Good Things Come in Threes

A deep dive into the writing process of Three Days of Fish with writer/director Peter Hoogendoorn. Collaboration between IFFR and Rotterdam Writers’ Room.

RTM Talk: Expanding Frames - Filmmaking as Research

Filmmaking as a research practice - an intimate conversation between Ine Lamers and Sam Koopman

RTM Talk: Imagine The City Otherwise
What if we used our lenses speculatively and imagined the city of Rotterdam otherwise?

IFFR PRO DIALOGUES 

IFFR Pro presents ten Dialogues and six Meet the Expert sessions during the IFFR Pro Days (31 January – 5 February), including the following highlights: 

• Access is Power will investigate accessibility and equity in the film industry, both behind and in front of the camera.
  

• The State of Queer Film, will showcase the works of radical expression, activism and transition from filmmakers in the festival line-up.
  

• Taking the Pulse: Festivals in 2025 will invite programmers, curators and filmmakers to ponder the role of festivals in today’s industry, asking whether festivals can still claim to act as “gatekeepers and tastemakers.”
  

• The Ethics and Aesthetics of AI-Generated Film will invite artists to explore the ethically ambiguous space of AI as both subject and image generator, as well as curators and programmers grappling with how to handle these films because of their complicated provenance and ethics.
  

On Tuesday 4 February, IFFR Pro is pulling Dutch filmmaking talent into focus by hosting a day-long programme on the impact of Dutch cinematic creativity across the globe – titled Pulling Focus: NL 2025. Sessions will feature a conversation between Ena Sendijarević (Take Me Somewhere Nice, Sweet Dreams) and award-winning Dutch actress Renée Soutendijk, as well an investigation into Dutch international co-production hosted together with ACE Producers. The afternoon sessions are dedicated to artificial intelligence.

The final night of the IFFR Pro Days will see the IFFR Pro Awards take place, celebrating outstanding projects from the CineMart and Darkroom selections, including four new awards for Darkroom projects. 

The new awards for projects in IFFR Pro’s work-in-progress platform Darkroom are: the Outward Gaze Prize, with thanks to the PJLF Arts Fund (€10,000), the Filmmore Work-in-progress Post-production Award (€7,500), the 4DR Studios Award for Best Immersive Project in Darkroom (in-kind prize), and the HBF Empowerment Award (€10,000), which, with thanks to a private donor, aims to empower filmmakers who come from politically challenging contexts or whose work addresses themes such as freedom of expression, displacement, human rights and/or underrepresented communities. 

They complement the following continuing IFFR Pro Awards: the Eurimages New Lab Awards (€20,000 & €30,000), 4DR Studios Award for Best Immersive Project in CineMart, Filmmore Post-production Award (€7,500), ArteKino International Award (€6,000) and the VIPO Award (€3,000). 

Details on accreditation for IFFR 2025 can be found here and information on key dates for the festival can be viewed here. Further information about the festival’s programme can be accessed here. 

About IFFR 

_{International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) upcoming 54th edition of the festival will take place from 30 January – 9 February 2025. IFFR presents a leading international film festival and year-round programme and actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through its co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Lab and other industry activities.}

_{IFFR seeks to expand, enrich and challenge people’s views of the world and each other through film and audiovisual arts. IFFR’s programme deepens appreciation of cinema in all its forms, broadens and diversifies audiences, and creates opportunities for independent filmmakers and artists from around the globe.}

_{Through IFFR’s visionary programming and forward-looking  initiatives, we create a haven for the plurality of voices, audiovisual formats and diverse storytelling. We are an essential destination for film professionals and film lovers. We support filmmakers and artists with funding and development opportunities and advance the impact of their work in the world. We are accessible to everyone. Through screenings, talks, exhibitions, education, professional initiatives and funding schemes we bring people from all backgrounds together, enabling discovery, recognition dialogue, learning and development. We look where others don’t and we open a space for ideas, pushing creative boundaries that have the power to transform.}

_{IFFR is supported by partners including Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (OCW), Gemeente Rotterdam, Creative Europe Media, NL Film Fonds, Fonds 21, de Volkskrant and VriendenLoterij.}