INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM 12 HEART OF THE TIGER As the first co-production market of its kind, Cine- Mart has now in many respects established itself as the start of the film production calendar. The 31 st edition kicks off today, until 29 January. 25 projects were selected for this year’s CineMart. To ensure this year’s selection was as versatile and extensive as ever, acting Head of CineMart & Industry Bianca Taal headed an 11-person committee composed of Cine- Mart staff and international advisors from a range of disciplines within the industry. Ongoing Though the event itself lasts for four busy days, Cine- Mart is an ongoing endeavour. Taal, working with Head of CineMart & Industry Marit van den Elshout (who is returning from maternity leave), says, “We are on the lookout for new talent and projects as well as developments in the industry year-round. The project applications for this year’s CineMart opened up mid- August.” Of course, part of the challenge facing financiers and filmmakers alike is the sheer rapidity with which the market changes. As the meeting point between the two, CineMart has to ensure it is always aware of such shifts. As Taal says: “One of our responsibilities is to keep track of developments in the film industry, which moves at a fast pace. We aim to know which companies are developing which projects, who is on the lookout for new talents, where interests lie in order to both present projects we’re passionate about and make sure that potential future partners of those projects are here in Rotterdam as well.” Just as no two film projects are the same, so the exper- tise and specialties of potential financiers will change according to the desires and needs of each production. “We’re expecting 682 guests,” says Taal. “We’re looking forward to welcoming back many returning produc- ers, sales agents and financiers, as well as professionals who’ll be exploring CineMart for the first time.” Mammoth Coordinating CineMart is a mammoth task. “The projects in selection are in high demand,” says Taal. “We have been truly overwhelmed by the number of meeting requests received. The projects in the CineMart selection received in total more than 1,400 meeting requests, of which 1,050 one-to-one meet- ings can be scheduled during the market.” One project selected for this year’s event is Caveh Zahedi’s The Sky Is Blue Like an Orange. “We are currently in the process of trying to attach name actors to the film,” Zahedi says. “We are hoping to find co-production partners at CineMart not only for the current project but for other projects as well.” This last point is indicative of the long-term capabili- ties of a co-production market such as CineMart. Its appeal to new filmmakers in this regard isn’t difficult to imagine. “We are also interested in forging long- term relationships with as many production and distribution entities as possible,” remarks Zahedi, of USA’s Greyshack Films. Babis Makridis, meanwhile, is attending CineMart for his new project Pity . “We are at the final stage, I hope, of writing the script and we hope we can shoot the movie this year.” Asked what it means to attend this year’s event, Makridis says, “CineMart is a great place to describe the story [of Pity] to others. To have their feedback and to feel what impact the story has on professionals.” Cooperation “For me, CineMart is the starting point of Pity ,” Makridis continues. “It is where we will move from the inside to the outside. From our lonely small writing room to the public.” Indeed, cooperation and collabo- ration are very much the emphases of CineMart. Its cultural standing and international reputation, more- over, speak to the increasingly international nature of film financing. In this respect, CineMart is not only dedicated to facilitating meetings between filmmak- ers and a range of potential worldwide funders, but is itself connected to other co-production markets and international film festivals. Two of the 25 projects this year, for instance, are part of CineMart’s Boost! programme – a joint initiative by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Lab and the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam, which also welcomes three new partners: South Africa’s Durban FilmMart, Argentina’s Fundación TyPA and the National Film Development Corporation of India. Art:Film Meanwhile, three other CineMart projects form Art:Film, an initiative founded two years ago by IFFR and Denmark’s CPH:DOX, that aims to respond to the specific needs of artistic cinema at the levels of funding, production and distribution. Jacobine van der Vloed, one of the two curator-organisers of Art:Film, notes that trimming this year’s selection from five to three projects is a good thing: “more attention, more focused.” This year’s Art:Film sees other profitable changes. Says Van der Vloed, “As we wanted it more like a think-tank this year, we assembled a small group of experts around each project, questioning and debat- ing each project’s needs and potential. The group will not function like a jury but rather like a team of experts and colleagues getting the ideas floating.” And, of course, participation is key. “The whole room/ audience will also contribute to the presentation and the two moderators, Omar Kholeif and Ben Cook, will be there to guide the discussion.” Long-term Like the three projects under its remit, Art:Film itself is a work in progress, as it looks to expand and negotiate an ever-changing market. These interna- tional links reveal the strength of CineMart. Being as established as they are, moreover, they also suggest long-term aims. Indeed, as Bianca Taal notes, “three CineMart projects are part of the Rotterdam-Berlinale Express, meaning they will continue their meetings at the Berlinale co-production market [next month]”. The unspoken acknowledgement here is that films are the outcome not of overnight coincidences, but of professional relationships that are able to endure difficulties and find new ways of negotiating tough terrains in the long term. It is to IFFR’s credit that CineMart, the festival’s mainstay for filmmakers and industry professionals, persists and even expands in spite of the European financial crisis, ensuring continued support for a new batch of hopeful productions. Michael Pattison reports 43 rd International Film Festival Rotterdam #4 Sunday 26 January 2014 photo: Ruud Jonkers Kicking off the calendar Tiger Shorts Awards Twenty-four short films were nominated in the Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films 2014. The winners have now been chosen by the jury (filmmaker/artist Mika Taanila, curator Bart Rutten and filmmaker/actress Mati Diop). Each of the three equal Tiger Awards for Short Films comes with a €3,000 cash prize and a video camera. In addition, the jury selects the IFFR nomination for the European Film Award for Short Film 2014, the winner of which will be announced in December 2014. Tonight, 21:00 hrs in LantarenVenster 1, free admission. Grand Talk The Finnish Speech Karaoke Action Group doesn’t have a catalogue of boring pop hits, but a database of snippets from legendary Euro- pean speeches. Today, they will teach you the finer points of presenting these during a work- shop. You can sign up in situ. On Wednesday 29 January, you can then present the text to a packed house with complete conviction. 13:00-21:00, De Doelen Coffee Corner, free admission and participation. Sign up for four digitals dailies containing CineMart and industry news from the festival grounds brought to you by Screen International, from Sunday 26 January. Register for the e-mail newsletters at www.screendaily.com/news. IFFR Industry tigers: Marit van den Elshout, Emmy Sidiras, Jolinde de Haas (standing), David Pope, Bianca Taal, Johanna Fuhler (standing), Nienke Poelsma and Inke Van Loocke
Transcript
international film festival rotterdam12
Heartof tHetiGer
As the first co-production market of its kind, Cine-Mart has now in many respects established itself as the start of the film production calendar. The 31st
edition kicks off today, until 29 January. 25 projects were selected for this year’s CineMart. To ensure this year’s selection was as versatile and extensive as ever, acting Head of CineMart & Industry Bianca Taal headed an 11-person committee composed of Cine-Mart staff and international advisors from a range of disciplines within the industry.
ongoing Though the event itself lasts for four busy days, Cine-Mart is an ongoing endeavour. Taal, working with Head of CineMart & Industry Marit van den Elshout (who is returning from maternity leave), says, “We are
on the lookout for new talent and projects as well as developments in the industry year-round. The project applications for this year’s CineMart opened up mid-August.”Of course, part of the challenge facing financiers and filmmakers alike is the sheer rapidity with which the market changes. As the meeting point between the two, CineMart has to ensure it is always aware of such shifts. As Taal says: “One of our responsibilities is to keep track of developments in the film industry, which moves at a fast pace. We aim to know which companies are developing which projects, who is on the lookout for new talents, where interests lie in order to both present projects we’re passionate about and make sure that potential future partners of those projects are here in Rotterdam as well.”Just as no two film projects are the same, so the exper-tise and specialties of potential financiers will change according to the desires and needs of each production. “We’re expecting 682 guests,” says Taal. “We’re looking forward to welcoming back many returning produc-ers, sales agents and financiers, as well as professionals who’ll be exploring CineMart for the first time.”
mammoth Coordinating CineMart is a mammoth task. “The projects in selection are in high demand,” says Taal. “We have been truly overwhelmed by the number of meeting requests received. The projects in the CineMart selection received in total more than 1,400 meeting requests, of which 1,050 one-to-one meet-ings can be scheduled during the market.”One project selected for this year’s event is Caveh Zahedi’s The Sky Is Blue Like an Orange. “We are currently in the process of trying to attach name actors to the film,” Zahedi says. “We are hoping to find co-production partners at CineMart not only for the current project but for other projects as well.”This last point is indicative of the long-term capabili-ties of a co-production market such as CineMart. Its appeal to new filmmakers in this regard isn’t difficult to imagine. “We are also interested in forging long-term relationships with as many production and distribution entities as possible,” remarks Zahedi, of USA’s Greyshack Films.Babis Makridis, meanwhile, is attending CineMart for his new project Pity. “We are at the final stage, I hope, of writing the script and we hope we can shoot
the movie this year.” Asked what it means to attend this year’s event, Makridis says, “CineMart is a great place to describe the story [of Pity] to others. To have their feedback and to feel what impact the story has on professionals.”
Cooperation “For me, CineMart is the starting point of Pity,” Makridis continues. “It is where we will move from the inside to the outside. From our lonely small writing room to the public.” Indeed, cooperation and collabo-ration are very much the emphases of CineMart. Its cultural standing and international reputation, more-over, speak to the increasingly international nature of film financing. In this respect, CineMart is not only dedicated to facilitating meetings between filmmak-ers and a range of potential worldwide funders, but is itself connected to other co-production markets and international film festivals.Two of the 25 projects this year, for instance, are part of CineMart’s Boost! programme – a joint initiative by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Lab and the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam, which also welcomes three new partners: South Africa’s Durban FilmMart, Argentina’s Fundación TyPA and the National Film Development Corporation of India.
art:filmMeanwhile, three other CineMart projects form Art:Film, an initiative founded two years ago by IFFR and Denmark’s CPH:DOX, that aims to respond to the specific needs of artistic cinema at the levels of funding, production and distribution. Jacobine van der Vloed, one of the two curator-organisers of Art:Film, notes that trimming this year’s selection from five to three projects is a good thing: “more attention, more focused.”This year’s Art:Film sees other profitable changes. Says Van der Vloed, “As we wanted it more like a think-tank this year, we assembled a small group of experts around each project, questioning and debat-ing each project’s needs and potential. The group will not function like a jury but rather like a team of experts and colleagues getting the ideas floating.” And, of course, participation is key. “The whole room/audience will also contribute to the presentation and the two moderators, Omar Kholeif and Ben Cook, will be there to guide the discussion.”
long-termLike the three projects under its remit, Art:Film itself is a work in progress, as it looks to expand and negotiate an ever-changing market. These interna-tional links reveal the strength of CineMart. Being as established as they are, moreover, they also suggest long-term aims. Indeed, as Bianca Taal notes, “three CineMart projects are part of the Rotterdam-Berlinale Express, meaning they will continue their meetings at the Berlinale co-production market [next month]”.The unspoken acknowledgement here is that films are the outcome not of overnight coincidences, but of professional relationships that are able to endure difficulties and find new ways of negotiating tough terrains in the long term.
it is to iffr’s credit that Cinemart, the festival’s mainstay for filmmakers and industry professionals, persists and even expands in spite of the European financial crisis, ensuring continued support for a new batch of hopeful productions. michael Pattison reports
43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam #4 Sunday 26 January 2014
phot
o: R
uud
Jonk
ers
Kicking off the calendar
tiger shorts awards Twenty-four short films were nominated in the Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films 2014. The winners have now been chosen by the jury (filmmaker/artist Mika Taanila, curator Bart Rutten and filmmaker/actress Mati Diop). Each of the three equal Tiger Awards for Short Films comes with a €3,000 cash prize and a video camera. In addition, the jury selects the IFFR nomination for the European Film Award for Short Film 2014, the winner of which will be announced in December 2014.Tonight, 21:00 hrs in LantarenVenster 1, free admission.
Grand Talk The Finnish Speech Karaoke Action Group doesn’t have a catalogue of boring pop hits, but a database of snippets from legendary Euro-pean speeches. Today, they will teach you the finer points of presenting these during a work-shop. You can sign up in situ. On Wednesday 29 January, you can then present the text to a packed house with complete conviction.13:00-21:00, De Doelen Coffee Corner, free admission and participation.
Sign up for four digitals dailies containing CineMart and industry news from the festival grounds brought to you by Screen International, from Sunday 26 January. Register for the e-mail newsletters at www.screendaily.com/news.
IFFR Industry tigers: Marit van den Elshout, Emmy Sidiras, Jolinde de Haas (standing), David Pope, Bianca Taal, Johanna Fuhler (standing), Nienke Poelsma and Inke Van Loocke
09:00 HS L for LeisureLev Kalman, Whitney HornLev Kalman, Whitney HornLev Kalman,
69’
11:00 BF A House in BerlinCynthia Beatt
96’
12:45 PE Las vocesCarlos Armella
106’
14:45 BF The MilitantManolo Nieto
120’
22:00 BF
The Quiet RoarHenrik Hellström
80’
09:15 BF Lettera al presidenteMarco Santarelli 69’
11:15 SP Coming to TermsJon Jost
89’
21:30 SP
A Touch of SinJia Zhang-ke
129’
09:00 SP NebraskaAlexander Payne
115’
11:30 SP
DINAMO P&I Screenings 3
57’
10:00 SH
de Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal
Cinerama 3
Cinerama 4
Cinerama 5
Cinerama 7
LantarenVenster 2
PRESS & INDUSTRY SCREENINGS SUNDAY 26 JANUARY Admission with P&I accreditation only
PRESS & INDUSTRY SCREENINGS SUNDAY 26 JANUARY Admission with P&I accreditation only
de Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal 09:00
Vergiss mein Ich [wp] TGJan Schomburg, Germany, 2014, DCP, 95 min, German, e.s.A successful woman suffers from retrograde amnesia: her whole biographical memory dis-appears from one moment to the next. Schom-berg’s intriguing and occasionally humorous second feature evokes fundamental questions about the construction of identity. With a convincing lead role by Maria Schrader.
11:00Reimon [wp] SP•paars01•
Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina/Germany, 2014, DCP, 72 min, Spanish, e.s.Her days consist of commuting and cleaning all over Buenos Aires. While Reimon vacuums, her wealthy clients read to each other, fascinated, from Marx’s Capital. The latest fi lm from the maker of The Minder is sober and socially com-mitted. Nominated for The Big Screen Award.
12:45War Story [ip] TGMark Jackson, USA/Italy, 2014, DCP, 88 min, English/ItalianMoving fi lm about the inner turmoil of war photographer Lee (strongly acted by Catherine Keener), who is wrestling with her war trau-mas. She fl ees to a small hotel in Sicily, where a meeting with a young immigrant helps her in dealing with her inner demons.
14:45Stella cadente [wp] TGLuis Miñarro, Spain, 2014, DCP, 111 min, Catalan/Spanish, e.s.Colourful feature debut from experienced pro-ducer Minarro offers an almost hallucinatory look into the world of Amadeo van Savoy, who for two years was king of an ungovernable Spain around 1870. This intriguing episode is transformed into a plea for beauty, creativity and joy.
17:30La distancia [wp] BF•geel•
Sergio Caballero, Spain, 2014, DCP, 80 min, Russian/Japanese/German, e.s.A performance artist is being held in a deserted Siberian power station following the unexpected death of his oligarch patron. Dryly comic surrealism (with an attractive soundtrack and three telepathic dwarves) from Tiger Award winner Caballero. Nominated for The Big Screen Award.
22:15Han Gong-Ju [ep] TGLee Su-Jin, South Korea, 2013, DCP, 112 min, Korean, e.s.Impressively acted social drama. After an incident, a Korean teenage girl is transferred to another school, where she stays with the mother of her new teacher. She makes friends and is asked to join an a cappella choir. But the past will not leave her in peace.
Cinerama 3 •FLM•
09:30Lake August [wp] SP•paars01•
Yang Heng, China/Hong Kong, 2014, Video, 113 min, Mandarin, e.s.To forget the death of his father and a broken relationship, a young man roams through a far corner of China. He comes to a halt in a resort. Yang has a unique talent for compellingly beautiful long shots and is getting better and better at it. World premiere of his third and most accessible fi lm.
12:00Evaporating Borders [wp] EU•blauw•
Iva Radivojevic, USA/Cyprus, 2014, DCP, 73 min, Greek/Arabic/English, e.s.Originally from Yugoslavia, Iva Radivojevic investigates the effects of large-scale im-migration on the sense of national identity in Cyprus, one of the easiest ports of entry into Fortress Europe. Poetically photographed and rendered, the fi lm passionately weaves the themes of migration, tolerance, identity and belonging.
14:00Mr X [ep] RG•blauw•
Tessa Louise-Salomé, France, 2014, Video, 72 min, French/English/Japanese, e.s.After his fi rst two succesful fi lms, the reputa-tion of Leos Carax shifted from prodidgy to problem child. Shrouding his own persona in mystery only made the speculation worse. Here, his beloved partners in crime reveal the true identity of this exceptional fi lm poet.
Cinerama 4 •FLM•
09:00Canopy HS•blauw•
Aaron Wilson, Australia, 2013, DCP, 84 min, Mandarin/Japanese/EnglishAn Australian pilot crashes in the inhospi-table jungle of Singapore. Disoriented and wounded, he fl ees from the Japanese troops. Far from civilisation, he fi nds an ally in a local soldier. Can they both survive? Atmospheric fi lm about intense emotions in wartime.
11:00L for Leisure [wp] BF•geel•
Lev Kalman/Whitney Horn, USA/Mexico/France/Iceland, 2014, DCP, 69 min, EnglishComedy about students on holiday in the early 1990s. First feature by Kalman and Horn after IFFR hit Blondes in the Jungle (2010). Friends from Rotterdam turn up in L for Leisure as ac-tors. Generation X keeps cool and casual and chatters away. With a great soundtrack.
12:45A House in Berlin [wp] PE•blauw•
Cynthia Beatt, Germany/United Kingdom, 2014, DCP, 96 min, EnglishA woman discovers that she has a distant but personal relationship to a historic building in Berlin and embarks on a journey into the past. One that turns out to be much more alive, am-biguous and unpredictable than expected. A contemporary visual quest at the intersection between fi ction and non-fi ction.
14:45Las voces [wp] BF•geel•
Carlos Armella, Mexico/Argentina, 2014, DCP, 106 min, Spanish, e.s.Feature fi lm about a documentary maker who begins a sinister friendship with his reclusive subject in the largely depopulated Mexican outback. Narcissist meets profi teer, against a stunning Western backdrop. Engaging solo debut by co-director of Toro negro (IFFR 2006).
22:00The Militant [ep] BF•geel•
Manolo Nieto, Uruguay/Argentina, 2013, DCP, 120 min, Spanish, e.s.Endearing second fi lm from Uruguayan Tiger Award winner Nieto. During a strike at the university, Ariel (uniquely played by Felipe Dieste) hears that his father has died. He is forced to return to the provinces to put fi nancial affairs at his father’s ranch in order. Nominated for The Big Screen Award.
Cinerama 5 •FLM•
09:15The Quiet Roar [wp] BF•geel•
Henrik Hellström, Sweden/Norway, 2014, DCP, 80 min, English/Swedish, e.s.Second fi lm from the Swedish director of the successful, hypnotic Burrowing, about a terminally ill woman who relives a crucial phase of her life thanks to LSD therapy: in her subconscious, she meets herself and her former husband at the age of 25.
11:15Lettera al presidente [ip] SP•paars01•
Marco Santarelli, Italy, 2013, DCP, 69 min, Italian, e.s.Filmmaker Santarelli reviewed 17,000 letters at the Italian presidential archives and selected beautiful, desperate, astounding, but always dignifi ed requests for understanding and help from ordinary citizens. Post-war Italian history visualised using fabulous archival images.
21:30Coming to Terms [ep] SP•paars01•
Jon Jost, USA, 2013, Video, 89 min, EnglishMeditation on death and its psychological impact on a broken family - a subject that has kept Jost (1943) very busy recently and which in this case he has moulded into a special narrative structure. The equally experienced fi lmmaker James Benning plays the father of the family.
Cinerama 7 •FLM•
09:00A Touch of Sin SP•paars01•
Jia Zhang-ke, China, 2013, DCP, 129 min, Mandarin/CantoneseModern impression of China, inspired by four unoffi cial news reports that appeared principally on Weibo (the Chinese Twitter), investigating why so many ‘insignifi cant’ incidents these days end with serious violence. Chinese master fi lmmaker won an award in Cannes. Please note, all public screenings of this fi lm will be with Dutch subtitling only.
11:30Nebraska SP•paars01•
Alexander Payne, USA, 2013, DCP, 115 min, English, d.s.Pa: I want my prize! Son: there isn’t any prize! Old dad walks onto the motorway, towards his ‘million dollars’. Son sighs and gives him a lift. Humorous road movie in attractive black-and-white through economically struggling Ne-braska, director Payne’s (The Descendants) home state, with a sparkling role for Bruce Dern.
LantarenVenster 2 •FLM•
10:00DINAMO P&I Screenings 3 SH•paars02•
Compilation Programme, 82 minDINAMO (Distribution Network of Artists’ Moving Image Organizations) distributors show recently acquired work.
Interactive Offi ce
Global premiere
It is unfortunate if a festival screening is the culmination of a fi lm’s lifespan. Recognizing this, IFFR has taken numer-ous measures to safeguard the interests of fi lmmakers whose fi lms are presented at the festival. One such initiative is the Film Offi ce, which serves as an essential platform for stimulating the careers of fi lmmakers with fi lms in the IFFR selec-tion. The Offi ce ensures the forging of valuable connections by fi xing projects up with international buyers, fi lm programmers and Industry delegates. Nikolas Montaldi, coordinator of the Film Offi ce: “The Film Offi ce resolves a dichotomy by linking the business side of the festival, such as CineMart delegates, with fi lmmakers in the offi cial line-up.”Filmmakers can take advantage of 30-minute, one-on-one consultation sessions at which industry insiders provide them with important advice, guidance and inspiration. The Offi ce also stages daily Industry Expert panels, at which top Indus-try professionals share their experiences and dispense vital tips to up-and-coming fi lmmakers. “An interaction platform like this serves the dual purpose of ensuring fi lmmakers get expert advice while allow-ing Industry veterans to meet fresh talent”, says Montaldi. Two extremely useful services that fall
under the Industry Offi ce are the Press & Industry Screenings and the Video Library. In line with its mission of making valuable connections, the Offi ce also propagates fi lm and contact data to distributors, sales agents, festival curators and producers globally. Attendees at Rotterdam may often be spoilt for choice, with the festival’s line-up running wide and deep. To facilitate the viewing of relevant content, the Film Offi ce welcomes Industry delegates to use the Video Library to view titles. The fully digitized Library located on the 4th fl oor of De Doelen can also be accessed through the Professionals Wi-Fi network through-out the building. For fi lmmakers, the Offi ce also provides attendance reports on the Press and Indus-try Screenings and the Video Library. Such feedback can be invaluable for rights holders in gauging popular sentiment and formulating further strategies. To take advantage of the various benefi ts offered by the Film Offi ce, just head up to the 3rd fl oor of De Doelen. Today, the Film Offi ce’s Industry Club offers two Expert Panels: From Short to Feature and Back Again (12:00), and How to Maximise the International Potential of Your Film from Development Onwards (15:00), both in the Industry Club on the 4th fl oor of De Doelen. Laya Maheshwari
For those of us who are frequent festival-goers, spectatorship has lost its purity. We are no longer satisfi ed with watching ‘just’ a fi lm, in our local theatre or on an online platform once it’s off the festival circuit and the buzz it created while it was touring quietens down. Now the key phrase in watching an international release is: ‘Loca-tion, location, location!’ Luckily, soon we’ll have three alternatives: at the festival, in an arthouse cinema or as a live internet broad-cast. This innovation is IFFR LIVE!In a nutshell, IFFR LIVE! aims to connect global audiences with a fi lm premiere and allow remote spectators to participate in the event, as they would at a festival. When a fi lm is launched at IFFR (starting next year with a group of 5 to 9 European fi lms), it will simultaneously stream in other arthouses and online platforms, includ-ing the Q&A; audiences will have a chance to address questions to the fi lmmakers through social media and get their atten-tion as quickly as if they raised their hand in the auditorium. The initiative should help bridge the gap between relatively
popular festival attendance and diminish-ing interest in ‘regular’ spectatorship for independent/arthouse fi lms.In Screen Daily, Geoffrey Macnab quotes Pete Buckingham, Former Head of Distri-bution and Exhibition at the UK Film Council and co-founder of Sampo Media consultancy, about: “the three ‘Es’ that need to be brought back into fi lm: ‘events, excitement and to a certain extent … exclusivity.’ IFFR LIVE!, he [Buckingham] suggests, addresses all of these.” This year’s launch summit for IFFR LIVE! aims to gather feedback and support for the initiative. It takes place today at 13:30 hrs in De Doelen’s Van Cappellezaal. IFFR LIVE! will be introduced by the representa-tives of companies which currently support the initiative. Rutger Wolfson (IFFR); Nelleke Driessen (Fortissimo Films); Susan Wendt (TrustNordisk Film Sales) and Daniela Elstner (Doc&Film). During the summit, there will also be discussions on the future of fi lm distribution and how to make such live events successful. Speak-ers include Pete Buckingham, marketing expert Niels Aalberts, European distribu-tors and market specialists. IFFR! Live is supported by the EU Media Programme. Irina Trocan Mr X Han Gong-Ju
“The Film Offi ce resolves a dichotomy by linking the business side of the festival, such as CineMart delegates, with fi lmmakers in the offi cial line-up”
