Rotterdam Film Festival
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International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020: The Gaze of the Old Filmmaker
Tyger Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? — William Blake As one of the centerpiece programs at the 49th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), “The Tyger Burns” was a canny display of un-hipness. What a joy it was to pay repeated witness to such a mammoth series of movies so gleefully, so wilfully out of touch. What better way to undercut the widespread love of emerging voices, new talents and young geniuses than to turn to aging, even senile artists who have either fallen […]
by Christopher Small on Feb 20, 2020 -
“The Narrative Model Used in TV Series Brings Us Back to a Stage That We Long Surpassed in Cinema”: Lucrecia Martel’s Rotterdam Masterclass
Lucrecia Martel’s Zama was one of the few titles to escape the sweeping critical scorn heaped upon the cinematic year 2017. After getting passed on by Cannes (potentially because one of its producers, Pedro Almodóvar, was president of the jury – though that would only have disqualified it from the main competition) and inexplicably landing an out of competition slot in Venice, the long-anticipated fourth feature by one of today’s most distinguished auteurs was received with Twin Peaks: The Return-levels of enthusiasm in certain quarters. The comparison to Twin Peaks isn’t merely incidental: both are works of staggering confidence and […]
by Giovanni Marchini Camia on Feb 12, 2018 -
Dispatches from Sundance, Berlin, True/False and Rotterdam
Sundance Film Festival 2016 by Adam Cook Few film festivals carry inscribed connotations the way that Sundance does. For this newcomer to Park City, a visit to this beacon of American indie cinema came loaded with preconceptions about both the nature of the “Sundance film” (part myth, part truth) and the tendency for the collective critical response to hyperbolize and rush to proclaim the year’s early favorites. Given the calendar-based approach of looking at movies in the context of their year, Sundance emerges on the heels of last year’s best-of lists, nearly 12 months ahead of when its own lineup will […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Apr 21, 2016 -
“A Snapple Kind of Guy”: Co-Director Lev Kalman on L for Leisure
A period piece best appreciated less for its historical relevance than its microscopic adoration of a forgotten pop zeitgeist, Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn’s L for Leisure is equal part class critique and deadpan laugh riot. Having previously directed the fantastical faux-’80s short Blondes in the Jungle, L for Leisure finds the team exploring the frothy, at times superficial daily activities of a group of well-off, young academics in the ’90s. The characters represent a type you’re fascinated by even as you remind yourself that you wouldn’t want to spend too much time in their presence — at one point in the film, the friends get high […]
by Erik Luers on May 14, 2015 -
2015 Rotterdam International Film Festival Line-Up
Falling smack dab in the middle of this year’s Sundance, the Rotterdam International Film Festival presents a hearty, intercontinental alternative to the Park City indie calendar starter. The program has trickled out over the last few weeks, and looks to be about buttoned up with the Spectrum and Bright Future sections announced today. Of note on the American end is the world premiere of Nathan Silver’s Stinking Heaven, which I covered on a set visit this summer, and the international premiere of Britni West’s Tired Moonlight, starring Alex Karpovsky. There’s also a generous helping of some of last year’s most notable festival circuit […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Jan 7, 2015 -
NAVIGATING OUR ROTTERDAM PREMIERE, PART 2
It’s hard to believe that IFFR is already coming to an end. Having now been here for a full and very active week filled with films, parties, new acquaintances…we feel simultaneously exhausted and rejuvenated. It is an honor to bring a film to Rotterdam. The Patron Saints screened three times at three different venues. At the start of our first screening, there was a technical issue that threw us into a bit of a panic. It was really our fault for not showing up a few minutes early to do a tech check, but… live and learn. To our great […]
by Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky on Feb 6, 2012 -
NAVIGATING OUR ROTTERDAM PREMIERE
February is going to be a busy month. We are getting ready to premiere two new films simultaneously, one at Rotterdam the other in Berlin. The first, The Patron Saints, is a hyperrealistic portrait of a nursing home and its inhabitants, and will have its international premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The second, our narrative feature Francine, a film about a recently released prison inmate with a complicated affinity for animals (played by Melissa Leo), heads to the Berlin Film Festival for its world premiere in the festival’s Forum Section. Preparing for festivals is a lot of […]
by Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky on Jan 31, 2012 -
The Microbudget Conversation: What Are The Festivals Good For ?
Sorry to all for the week off. A little festival called Sundance was happening, and this column would have been lost in the hustle and bustle. PLUS, I’ve become agoraphobic after editing Orphaned for three weeks straight now. I no longer possess social skills and hygiene. (But the movie looks good so far!) After our second article posted, Blake Eckard contacted me and thought I needed to talk to someone ASAP. It could only be one person, Jon Jost (pictured below). Jon is one of Blake’s favorite film directors and he is a legendary indie filmmaker. It was a no-brainer. […]
by John Yost on Feb 1, 2011 -
ROTTERDAM CINEMART DEADLINE, SEPTEMBER 1, APPROACHING
One of most vital stops on the funding circuit for European arthouse films as well as select American independents is the Rotterdam Cinemart, held each year at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in late January. Here is how the festival describes the Cinemart: CineMart was the first platform of its kind to offer filmmakers the opportunity to launch their ideas to the international film industry and to find the right connections to get their projects financed. Launching about 36 new projects in need of additional financing, CineMart also heralds an important start of the ‘film year’. Every year, the CineMart […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 16, 2010 -
THE ROTTERDAM FILM FESTIVAL VISITS BAM
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has always been an exciting oasis in the festival calendar, a place to see new directors, experimental programming, and to connect with new projects away from the din of more market-defined festivals and red-carpet affairs. (Full disclosure: I’m on the board of Rotterdam’s CineMart.) This year’s festival was a good one — you can read Michael Tully’s wrap-up here — and now New Yorkers have the opportunity to discover the filmmakers of the Tiger Competition. The Tigers consist of films by new filmmakers, and the gamut runs from edgy dramas to intriguing doc-fiction hybrids to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 2, 2010
