The 42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam will open on Jan 23 with the world premiere of The Resurrection of a Bastard by Dutch director Guido van Driel.

Van Driel’s fiction feature debut will also compete for Rotterdam’s Tiger Awards Competition.

The cast features Yorick van Wageningen, Goua Robert Grovogui, Juda Goslinga and the late Jeroen Willems.

The film is produced by Topkapi Films in co-production with Menuet and VPRO will be released in The Netherlands by A-Film. The project was presented at Rotterdam’s CineMart in 2010.

The film’s plot is described as “An old Frisian farmer bent on revenge. A criminal from Amsterdam barely surviving a liquidation. An illegal immigrant with uncertain prospects. Eventually, they meet under an ancient oak tree. Beyond the last town.” The film is adapted from his 2004 graphic novel Om Mekaar in Dokkum.

Rutger Wolfson, IFFR director, said: “We are extremely glad to present The Resurrection of a Bastard as our Official Opening Film and in our Hivos Tiger Awards Competition. Filmmaker Guido van Driel deeply impresses with an original, bleak and nearly magical story that he shot in a compelling and controlled way. Also the actors excel in this film. Yorick van Wageningen gives a knock out performance as criminal in transformation. The late Jeroen Willems is seen in a hair-raising and unforgettable role.”

van Driel is a filmmaker, painter and writer/graphic artist. He previously made the documentaries U spreekt met Frank Laufer and Groen is toch de Mooiste kleur voor Gras.

 

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