Fourteen films have been selected for Rotterdam's VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2009, including eight world premieres.

The line-up features first or second films from all five continents competing for three top prizes of $20,500 (Euros 15,000) each. For the first time, films from Turkey, New Zealand and Indonesia are included in competition.

In addition, the Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films includes twenty-seven films shorter than 60 minutes; the three Tiger Awards for Short Film each come with $4000 (Euros 3,000).

World premieres include the feature debut by Quebec based filmmakers Henri Bernadet and Myriam Verreault, A L'Ouest De Pluton (At West Of Pluto) and Alicia Scherson's second feature Turistas (Tourists) from Chile.

The world premiere of The Strength Of Water, is the first film from New Zealand in competition at Rotterdam. Presented at CineMart in 2002, the film was co-produced by Germany's Pandora Film.

While Wrong Rosary, also a world premiere, is the first Turkish film to be included in the Tiger Awards competition. A love story set in present day Istanbul, it is written and directed by Mahmut Fazil Coskun.

Other European films to have their world premiere include Caspar Pfaundler's second feature Schottentor from Austria; Sois Sage (Be Good), Juliette Garcias's debut from France and from Britain - Dogging a Love Story, by Simon Ellis.

Six films in competition are from Asia including: Dark Harbour from Japan; Breathless from Korea; Blind Pig Who Wants To Fly From Indonesia; No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti from Taiwan; and Peng Tao's Floating In Memory.

As previously reported in ScreenDaily, the Tiger Awards Jury comprises visual artist Marlene Dumas; Turkish writer and filmmaker Yesim Ustaoglu, Mr Park Ki-Yong, director of the Korean Academy of Arts and co-director of the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival; Hungarian writer, director and actor Kornel Mundruzco and Kent Jones, associate director of programming of the Film Society of Lincoln Centre, New York.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam 2009 will open with the world premiere of The Hungry Ghosts, Michael Imperioli's feature debut, on Wednesday 21st January. The Hungry Ghosts is also in competition.

The full programme of IFFR 2009 will be announced on January 15, 2009 on www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com

The 14 films in IFFR 2009's VPRO Tiger Awards Competition

(in alphabetical order by international film title)

A L'Ouest De Pluton (At West Of Pluto) by Henri Bernadet & Myriam Verreault (Canada, 2009), world premiere

Be Calm And Count To Seven (Aram Bash Va Ta Haft Beshmar) by Ramtin Lavafipour (Iran, 2008), European premiere.

Blind Pig Who Wants To Fly by Edwin (Indonesia, 2008), European premiere.

Breathles (Ddongpari) by Yang Ik-June (South Korea, 2008), international premiere

Dark Harbour (Futoko) by Naito Takatsugu (Japan, 2008), international premiere

Dogging A Love Story by Simon Ellis (United Kingdom, 2009), world premiere

Floating In Memory (Liu Li) by Peng Tao (China, 2009), world premiere and IFFR 2009 Opening Film

No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti by Leon Dai (Taiwan, 2008), international premiere

Schottentor by Caspar Pfaundler (Austria, 2009), world premiere

Sois Sage (Be Good) by Juliette Garcias (France, Denmark, 2008), European premiere

The Strength Of Water by Armagan Ballantyne (New Zealand, Germany, 2008), world premiere

Turistas (Tourists) by Alicia Scherson (Chile, 2009), world premiere

Wrong Rosary (Uzak Ihtimal) by Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Turkey, 2009), world premiere

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