International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and industry platform CineMart are set to fully return in-person in 2023, with its first wave of titles announced today.
The 52nd edition of the festival is scheduled to take place from January 25 to February 5 and organisers said it plans to welcome back audiences with a complete programme of features, shorts, focus programmes, installations and performances.
The 40th edition of IFFR’s co-production market CineMart is also set to run from January 29 to February 1, with one-to-one meetings and informal networking taking place in person for the first time in three years. Reality Check, IFFR’s platform to discuss ongoing issues in the film industry, also returns.
Having been one of the last festivals to run in-person in January 2020 before the pandemic began, IFFR was unable to host its 2021 edition in-person due to lockdowns across much of the world at that time. It then had to move its 2022 edition online just weeks before the event, due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus. The festival held a summer event in June 2021 as an extension of the main festival and screened highlights of the 2022 edition in cinemas earlier this month.
It will mark the first full physical edition for festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, having started her role after the 2020 edition.
First titles
Confirming its plans, IFFR announced its first titles from the Bright Future and Limelight sections.
The Bright Future programme, dedicated to young and emerging film talent, will include the world premiere of Jagath Manuwarna’s satirical debut feature Whispering Mountains, which a supernatural virus spreads across Sri Lanka. IFFR will also world premiere Umut Subasi’s Istanbul-set deadpan drama Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster. A rural Kenyan village gives the name to Angela Wanjiku Wamai’s debut Shimoni, which will screen in Europe for the first time following its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.
The Limelight line-up of cinematic highlights from the year’s festival circuit will include Pierre Földes’ animated take on Haruki Murakami’s short stories Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, as well as Alice Diop’s courtroom drama Saint Omer. The selection also includes Jafar Panahi’s No Bears, which will screen at the festival while its director remains imprisoned in Iran.
The industry side will also see more than 40 IFFR Pro partners from around the world nominate up-and-coming producers to attend networking and development platform Rotterdam Lab. New participants for 2023 will be joined by selected graduates from the last two online editions, who will be invited to Rotterdam to share their recent experiences.
Further talent activities include hosting the second part of Creative Producer Indaba, a scheme for the professional development of emerging African producers. Selected filmmakers and projects participating on BoostNL will also complete their bespoke programme.
IFFR 2023: first titles
Bright Future
Almost Entirely A Slight Disaster (Turk)
Dir. Umut Subasi
La Amiga De Mi Amiga (Sp)
Dir. Zaida Carmona
Amiko (Jap)
Dir. Morii Yusuke
Clementina (Arg)
Dir. Agustín Mendilaharzu
A Los Libros Y A Las Mujeres Canto (Sp)
Dir. María Elorza
La Mala Familia (Sp-Fr)
Dirs. Nacho A. Villar, Luis Rojo
Shimoni (Kenya)
Dir. Angela Wanjiku Wamai
Whispering Mountains (Sri)
Dir. Jagath Manuwarna
Limelight
Aftersun (US-UK)
Dir. Charlotte Wells
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (Fr-Can-Lux-Neth)
Dir. Pierre Földes
The Blue Caftan (Mor-Bel-Den-Fr)
Dir. Maryam Touzani
Boy From Heaven (Swe-Fin-Fr)
Dir. Tarik Saleh
Eo (Pol-It)
Dir. Jerzy Skolimowski
Godland (Den-Ice)
Dir. Hlynur Pálmason
Mediterranean Fever (Pal-Ger-Fr-Cyp-Qat)
Dir. Maha Haj
Medusa Deluxe (UK)
Dir. Thomas Hardiman
No Bears (Iran)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Nostalgia (It)
Dir. Mario Martone
Un Petit Frère (Fr)
Dir. Léonor Serraille
Saint Omer (Fr)
Dir. Alice Diop
War Pony (US)
Dirs. Riley Keough, Gina Gammell
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