Gusyatinskiy, de Leeuw join Rotterdam programming team

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has appointed two new festival programmers to join its 10-person programming team. Inge de Leeuw (from The Netherlands) will select films from the English-speaking world and Evgeny Gusyatinskiy (from Russia) will select films from Russia, Central and Eastern Europe.

This follows the departure of three veteran Rotterdam programmers: Erwin Houtenbrink, Ludmila Cvikova (who has now joined the Doha Film Institute), and Irma Dulmers.

Festival director Rutger Wolfson said of the new appointments: “Having contributed vigorously to the success and character of the IFFR for many years, programmers Erwin Houtenbrink, Ludmila Cvikova and Irma Dulmers have left the festival. The enormous range of films on offer and the vast worldwide network of filmmakers and producers with which the festival, the Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart maintain contact make a strong programming team more than essential. I am therefore delighted to welcome Inge and Evgeny as IFFR programmers.”

Inge de Leeuw started working at IFFR’s programme department for the 2006 festival, while also working in film production. In 2010 and 2011, she worked as assistant programmer and producer of commissioned works in IFFR ‘Where is Africa?’ section. For IFFR 2011, she curated the Out of Fashion programme on film and fashion (which later travelled elsewhere). She writes about film and technology for the Creators Project. She will be selecting films for the IFFR from the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand as well as for the Tiger Competition.

Evgeny Gusyatinskiy has worked as a film critic and journalist for a range of Russian media. He is an editor of Film Art, the oldest film magazine in Europe. He has been visiting the IFFR since 2005, when he was part of the IFFR’s Young Film Critics Project. He has programmed for the Kinotavr festival in Sochi since 2006 and also works with the Pioiner Cinema in Moscow.

The team of programmers will now have the following updated research areas: Chinlin Hsieh (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and French-speaking Canada, Tiger competition); Gertjan Zuilhof (North and Southeast Asia excluding China and Korea, Central and Southern Africa, Tiger Competition). The rest of the Rotterdam programming team is: Edwin Carels (Theme sections, arts installations, Signals: Regained); Peter van Hoof (Short films; India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka); Dicky Parlevliet (General with focus on France); Gerwin Tamsma (China, Korea, Spain, Latin-America, Portugal, Scandinavia, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Tiger Awards Competition); and Wolfson (General, Netherlands, Tiger Awards Competition).

There will be a programmer to be announced concentrating on Turkey and the Arabic world.

IFFR’s short films are selected by a committee of seven: Sacha Bronwasser, Erwin van ’t Hart, Peter van Hoof (Chair), Juliette Jansen, Peter Taylor, and Theus Zwakhals.

The 41st IFFR will run Jan 25 to Feb 5.