Rotterdam Spectrum's world premieres include new films by Miike, Diaz, Franco

There are 16 world premieres in the section, including Takashi Miike’s Ace Attorney, a Japanese video game adaptation about a legal battle; Ian Olds & James Franco’s Francophrenia (or: Don’t Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is), a comedic psycho-thriller based on footage shot by Franco during the shooting of soap opera General Hospital; Lav Diaz’s Agonistes, the Myth of Nation, about two workers who leave a city in search of treasure; Pat Holden’s UK feature When the Lights Go Out about a Yorkshire family tormented by an evil spirit; French family drama The Rest of the World (Le reste du monde) by Damien Odoul; Italian director Davide Manuli’s The Legend of Kaspar Hauser [pictured], a post-modern Western starring Vincent Gallo; and Dutch documentary Peace Versus Justice by Klaartje Quirijns, about Uganda’s relationship with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Other Spectrum highlights will include awards season contenders The Descendants, Shame and A Dangerous Method; Bohdan Slama’s family drama Four Suns from the Czech Republic (also selected for Sundance); James Benning’s small roads from the US; another Diaz selection, meditative Century of Birthing; Rick Alverson’s The Comedy, about a New York hipster waiting for his inheritance; and three Latin American films supported by the Hubert Bals Fund: Claudio Assis’ Rat Fever; Matias Meyer’s Los ultimos cristeros, and Jose Luis Torres Leiva’s Verano.

The section also includes festival favourites such as Ruben Ostlund’s Play, Aki Kaurismaki’s Le Havre, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Alps, and Ann Hui’s A Simple Life.

As previously reported, IFFR opens Jan 25 with the world premiere of Lucas Belvaux’s 38 Witnesses, which is also in Spectrum.

The rest of the Rotterdam programme will be announced on Jan 19.

IFFR 2012 Spectrum

World premieres
Cornelia at Her Mirror (Cornelia frente al espejo), Daniel Rosenfeld, Argentina [Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) supported]
Roman Diary, Michael Pilz, Austria
Rua Aperana 52, Júlio Bressane, Brazil
Lacan Palestine, Mike Hoolboom, Canada
38 Witnesses (38 témoins), Lucas Belvaux, France, Belgium
The Rest of the World (Le reste du monde), Damien Odoul, France
The Blindfold, Garin Nugroho, Indonesia
The Legend of Kaspar Hauser (La leggenda di Kaspar Hauser), Davide Manuli, Italy
Ace Attorney, Miike Takashi, Japan
I’m Still Alive, Peter van Houten, Netherlands
Peace versus Justice, Klaartje Quirijns, Netherlands
Nick, Fow Pyng Hu, Netherlands
Agonistes, the Myth of Nation, Lav Diaz, Philippines [HBF]
When the Lights Went Out, Pat Holden, UK
A Shape of Error, Abigail Child, US-Italy
Francophrenia (or: Don’t Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is), Ian Olds, James Franco, US

International premieres
Rat Fever, Cláudio Assis, Brazil
Women on the Edge, Kobayashi Masahiro, Japan
Mondomanila, Khavn De La Cruz, Philippines, Germany [HBF]
A Woman’s Revenge (A vingança de uma mulher), Rita Azevedo Gomes, Portugal
Black Dove, Roh Gyeong-Tae, South Korea
Iceberg, Gabriel Velázquez, Spain
The Comedy, Rick Alverson, US

European premieres
The Hunter, Daniel Nettheim, Australia
Four Suns, Bohdan Sláma, Czech Republic
A Temple, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, India
Bunohan/Return to Murder, Dain Iskandar Said, Malaysia
The Last Christeros (Los últimos cristeros), Matías Meyer, Mexico-Netherlands [HBF]
Visiting Room, Alexandru Baciu & Radu Muntean, Romania
Punk in Africa, Keith Jones & Deon Maas, South Africa-Czech Republic
small roads, James Benning, US

Dutch premieres
Today I Felt no Fear (Hoy no tuve miedo), Iván Fund, Argentina
Way of Passion, Joerg Burger, Austria
The Giants (Les géants), Bouli Lanners, Belgium-France-Luxembourg
Story of My Hair (Histoire de mes cheveux), Boris Lehman, Belgium-Russia
Monsieur Lazhar, Philippe Falardeau, Canada
Summertime (Verano), José Luis Torres Leiva, Chile [HBF]
11 Flowers, Wang Xiaoshuai, China-France
Old Dog, Pema Tseden, China
Le Havre, Aki Kaurismäki, Finland
House of Tolerance (L’ Apollonide - Souvenirs de la maison close), Bertrand Bonello, France
Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell (Duch, le maître des forges de l’enfer), Rithy Panh, France
Dernière séance, Laurent Achard, France
Goodbye First Love (Un amour de jeunesse), Mia Hansen-Løve, France
A Better Life (Une vie meilleure), Cédric Kahn, France
Demain?, Christine Laurent, France, Portugal
Cracks In The Shell (Die Unsichtbare), Christian Schwochow, Germany
Unfair World, Filipos Tsitos, Greece, Germany
Alps, Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece
A Simple Life, Ann Hui, Hong Kong
I Wish, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Japan
Goodbye, Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran [HBF]
Kotoko, Tsukamoto Shinya, Japan
Miss Bala, Gerardo Naranjo Gonzalez, Mexico
Shock Head Soul, Simon Pummell, Netherlands-UK
Buenas noches, España, Raya Martin, Philippines-Spain
Century of Birthing, Lav Diaz, Philippines
Heart’s Boomerang, Nikolay Khomeriki, Russia
Tatsumi, Eric Khoo, Singapore
Stateless Things, Kim Kyung-Mook, South Korea
The Day He Arrives, Hong Sang-Soo, South Korea
The Names of Christ (Els noms de Crist), Albert Serra, Spain
The Clay Diaries (El cuaderno de barro), Isaki Lacuesta, Spain-Switzerland
Double Steps (Los pasos dobles), Isaki Lacuesta, Spain-Switzerland
Futures Market (Mercado de futures), Mercedes Alvarez, Spain
Play, Ruben Östlund, Sweden, France, Denmark
Patience (After Sebald), Grant Gee, UK
A Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg, UK-France-Ireland-Germany-Canada
Wuthering Heights, Andrea Arnold, UK
The Loneliest Planet, Julia Loktev, US-Germany
The Descendants, Alexander Payne, US
Damsels in Distress, Whit Stillman, US