50th International Film Festival Rotterdam

The 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam, was the 2021 installment of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, which took place on 1–7 February 2021 and 2–6 June 2021. The first part of the edition focused on the main Tiger, Big Screen, Ammodo Tiger Short, and Limelight programmes.[1] Whilst, the second part focused on the Harbour, Bright Future, Cinema Regained, Classics and Short and Mid-Length Film sections.[2]

50th International Film Festival Rotterdam
Opening filmRiders of Justice by Anders Thomas Jensen (February)
The World to Come by Mona Fastvold (June)
Closing filmPoupelle of Chimney Town by Hirota Yusuke (June)
LocationRotterdam, Netherlands
Founded1972
AwardsPebbles (Tiger Award)
Festival date1–7 February 2021
2–6 June 2021
Websiteiffr.com
IFFR chronology

The event was presented as a hybrid event, with a film programme was available online in the Netherlands whilst physically screened in cinemas across the country.[3]

Indian drama film, Pebbles by Vinothraj P.S., won Tiger Award, the top prize.[4]

Juries

edit

Tiger

edit

Ammodo Tiger Short

edit
  • Anna Abrahams, audiovisual curator
  • Amira Gad, Egyptian-French curator and writer
  • Vincent Meessen, filmmaker

Official selections

edit

Tiger

edit

The following films were selected to compete for the Tiger Award. The line-up was announced on 22 December 2020.[5]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Bebia, à mon seul désir Juja Dobrachkous Georgia, United Kingdom
Bipolar 只是一次偶然的旅行 Queena Li China
Black Medusa Ma tasmaa ken errih Ismaël, Youssef Chebbi Tunisia
A Corsican Summer I Comete Pascal Tagnati France
The Edge of Daybreak Phayasohk phiyohkyam Taiki Sakpisit Thailand
Feast Tim Leyendekker Netherlands
Friends and Strangers James Vaughan Australia
Gritt Itonje Søimer Guttormsen Norway
Landscapes of Resistance Pejzaži otpora Marta Popivoda Serbia, Germany, France
Liborio Nino Martínez Sosa Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Qatar
Looking for Venera Në kërkim të Venerës Norika Sefa Kosovo, North Macedonia
Madalena Madiano Marcheti Brazil
Mayday Karen Cinnore United States
Mighty Flash Destello bravío Ainhoa Rodríguez Spain
Moss Agate Agate mousse Selim Mourad Lebanon
Pebbles Koozhangal Vinothraj P.S. India

Big Screen

edit

The following films were selected to compete for the VPRO Big Screen Award. The line-up was announced on 22 December 2020.[6]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Archipelago Archipel Félix Dufour-Laperrière Canada
Aristocrats Anoko wa kizoku Sode Yukiko Japan
As We Like It Jie da huan xi Chen Hung-i, Muni Wei Taiwan
Aurora Paz Fábrega Costa Rica
The Cemil Show Cemil şov Bariş Sarhan Turkey
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet El perro que no calla Ana Katz Argentina
Drifting Zuk seoi piu lau Jun Li Hong Kong
King Car Carro Rei Renata Pinheiro Brazil
The Last Farmer Kadaisi vivasayi M. Manikandan India
Lone Wolf Jonathan Ogilvie Australia
The North Wind Severnyy veter Renata Litvinova Russia
Sexual Drive セクシャルドライブ Kōta Yoshida Japan
The Witches of the Orient Les Sorcières de l'Orient Julien Faraut France
The Year Before the War Gads pirms kara Dāvis Sīmanis Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic

Ammodo Tiger Short

edit

The following films were selected to compete for the Ammodo Tiger Short Competition. The line-up was announced on 22 December 2020.[7]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
80000 Years Old 80000 ans Christelle Lheureux France
earthearthearth Daïchi Saïto Canada
Eating Soil Erde essen Laura Weissenberger Austria
Er is een geest van mij Mateo Vega Netherlands, Peru
The Eternal Springtime Mùa xuân vĩnh cửu Việt Vũ Vietnam
Flowers blooming in our throats Eva Giolo Italy
For the Sake of Calmness Newsha Tavakolian Iran
Happy Valley Simon Liu Hong Kong, United States
The Hole's Journey Ghita Skali Netherlands
Lemongrass Girl Pom Bunsermvicha Thailand
Letter From Your Far-Off Country Suneil Sanzgiri United States
Luces del desierto Félix Blume France, Mexico
Maat Means Land Fox Maxy United States
Manifesto Ane Hjort Guttu Norway
Plant (879 pages, 33 days) Ruth Höflich Australia
Sunsets, everyday Basir Mahmood Italy
Surviving You, Always Morgan Quaintance United Kingdom
Tellurian Drama Riar Rizaldi Indonesia
Terranova Alejandro Pérez Serrano, Alejandro Alonso Estrella Cuba
Tracing Utopia Catarina de Sousa, Nick Tyson Portugal, United States
Who Is Afraid of Ideology? Part 3 Micro Resistances Marwa Arsanios Germany
The Women's Revenge Su Hui-yu Taiwan

Art Directions

edit

The programme highlighted the expansion of cinema to installations, exhibitions and live performance.[8]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
The Hangman at Home Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot Denmark, France, Canada
Image Technology Echoes Lauren Moffatt Ireland, Germany
The Subterranean Imprint Archive Francois Knoetze, Amy Louise Wilson South Africa
To Miss the Ending David Callanan, Anna West United Kingdom

Bright Future

edit

The programme highlighted first-feature films from promising filmmakers.[9]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
All About My Sisters Jia ting lu xiang Wang Qiong United States
BERG Joke Olthaar Netherlands
Damascus Dreams Émilie Serri Canada
The Day Is Over Chi tang Qi Rui China
Faya Dayi Jessica Bashir Ethiopia, United States, Qatar
The Joy of Things A felicidade das coisas Thais Fujinaga Brazil
Lumina Samuele Sestieri Italy
OK Computer Pooja Shetty, Neil Pagedar India
Phoenix Bram Droulers Belgium, United Kingdom
Rock Bottom Riser Fern Silva United States
The Son Pesar Noushin Meraji Iran
The Story of Southern Islet Nan wu Chong Keat Aun Malaysia
Thomas the High Jumper Thomas der Hochspringer Leri Matehha Germany
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror Kier-La Janisse United States

Cinema Regained

edit

The programme offered restored classic films, documentaries on film culture and explorations of cinema's heritage.[10]

English title Original title Director(s) Year Production countrie(s)
The 12 Day Tale of the Monster That Died in 8 Shunji Iwai 2020 Japan
The Tenth of May Der 10. Mai Franz Schnyder 1957 Switzerland
All Other Things Equal Anya Tsyrlina 2020 Russia
Amos Gitaï, la violence et l'histoire Laurent Roth 2021 France
The Amusement Park George A. Romero 1975 United States
Ayako Tachibana Wants to Go Viral Tachibana Ayako wa miraretai Sato Amane 2020 Japan
Black Cat Tanaami Keiichi 1972 Japan
The Calm After the Storm Como el cielo después de llover Mercedes Gaviria 2020 Colombia, Argentina
Camila María Luisa Bemberg 1984 Argentina, Spain
Careless Crime Jenayat-e bi deghat Shahram Mokri 2020 Iran
Charisma Amos Gitai 1976 Israel
Chess of the Wind Shatranj-e baad Mohammad Reza Aslani 1976 Iran
Cinephilia Now: Part 1 – Secrets Within Walls Eiga ai no genzai: Part 1 – Kabe no mukode Sasaki Yusuke 2020 Japan
The Crown Jewels of Iran Ganǧīneh-hāye Gouhar Ebrahim Golestan 1965 Iran
The Deer Gavaznhā Masoud Kimiai 1974 Iran
The Demon Il demonio Brunello Rondi 1963 Italy, France
The Dinosaur Dinosaurus Veikko Aaltonen 2021 Finland
The Earth Is a Sinful Song Maa on syntinen laulu Rauni Mollberg 1973 Finland
Everything Is Cinema Don Palathara 2021 India
Fat Chance Stephen Broomer 2021 Canada
Hands Up Mr. Rasnichi Hal Clay, Florenz Fuchs von Nordhoff 1967 West Germany
Hopper/Welles Orson Welles 2020 United States
The Living Heroes Gyvieji didvyriai Arūnas Žebriūnas, Balys Bratkauskas, Vytautas Žalakevičius, Marijonas Giedrys 1959 Lithuania
María Luisa Bemberg: El eco de mi voz María Luisa Bemberg: The Echo of My Voice Alejandro Maci 2021 Argentina
Mat Magic Mat Sentol, John Calvert 1971 Singapore
MÍR: Hundred Years of Revolution MÍR: Byltingin lengi lifi Haukur Hallsson 2020 Iceland, Czech Republic
Modern Korea – Doing Our Best the People's Network Modern Korea – Jeongseongeul da haneun gungminui bangsong Ji-sun Youm 2020 South Korea
Neck 'n' Neck Walt Disney 1928 United States
Nomads of the Sun Les nomades du soleil Henry Brandt 1953 Switzerland
The Philosophy of Horror – A Symphony of Film Theory A horror filozófiája Péter Lichter, Bori Máté 2020 Hungary
Les rendez-vous de l'été Jacques Ertaud, Raymond Zumstein 1966 France
Sea Palace Umi no kyūden Masaoka Kenzō 1927 Japan
Switzerland Ponders La Suisse s'interroge Henry Brandt 1964 Switzerland
Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo Tange Sazen yowa: Hyakuman ryō no tsubo Sadao Yamanaka 1935 Japan
There Are Not Thirty-Six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a Horse No existen treinta y seis maneras de mostrar cómo un hombre se sube a un caballo Nicolás Zukerfeld 2020 Argentina
The Village Detective: a Song Cycle Bill Morrison 2021 United States
Vincent van Go-Go Hal Clay, Florenz Fuchs von Nordhoff 1967 West Germany

Harbour

edit

The programme showcased contemporary cinema.[11]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus Slučajna raskoš prozirnog vodenog rebusa Dalibor Barić Croatia
Amor fati Cláudia Varejão Portugal, Switzerland, France
The Belly of the Sea El ventre del mar Agustí Villaronga Spain
Birds of America Jacques Loeuille France
The Blue Danube Kimajimegakutai no Bonyarisenso Ikeda Akira Japan
Bloodsuckers Blutsauger Julian Radlmaier Germany
Bottled Songs 1-4 Chloé Galibert-Laîné, Kevin B. Lee Germany, France, United States
Capitu and the Chapter Capitu e o capítulo Júlio Bressane Brazil
Davos Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann Austria
The Day Today Au jour d'aujourd'hui Maxence Stamatiadis France
Death on the Streets Johan Carlsen Germany, Denmark, Greece
Decameron Rita Hui Nga Shu Hong Kong
Fabian – Going to the Dogs Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde Dominik Graf Germany
Fan Girl Antoinette Jadaone Philippines
Faraway My Shadow Wandered Liao Jiekai, Sudhee Liao Singapore, Taiwan, Japan
Fucking with Nobody Hannaleena Hauru Finland
Glossary of Non-Human Love Na manush premer kothamala Ashish Avikunthak India
Homeless Hom-li-seu Lim Seung-hyeun South Korea
Hotel on the Koppies Hotele Lerallaneng Charlie Vundla South Africa
Lutar, lutar, lutar Sérgio Borges, Helvécio Marins Jr. Brazil
A Man and a Camera Guido Hendrikx Netherlands
Minamata Mandala Hara Kazuo Japan
My Name Is Francesco Totti Mi chiamo Francesco Totti Alex Infascelli Italy
Nudo Mixteco Ángeles Cruz Mexico
Only the Winds Karim Kassem Lebanon, United States
Persona Non Grata Hvor kragerne vender Lisa Jespersen Denmark
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché Celeste Bell, Paul Sng United Kingdom, India, United States
Poupelle of Chimney Town Entotsu Machi no Poupelle Hirota Yusuke Japan
The Rain Falls Where It Will Abr baranash gerefteh Majid Barzegar Iran, Canada
Scarecrow Pugalo Dmitry Davydov Russia
Self-Portrait 2020 Lee Dong-wook South Korea
A Song for You Ta yu luo ye dai er Dukar Tserang China
Time Ricky Ko Hong Kong
An Unusual Summer Kamal Aljafari Palestine
The World to Come Mona Fastvold United States

Limelight

edit

The programme showcased cinematic highlights of film festival favourites and international award-winners.[12]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Beginning Dasatskisi Dea Kulumbegashvili France, Georgia
Dead & Beautiful David Verbeek Netherlands, Taiwan
Dear Comrades! Dorogie tovarischi! Andrei Konchalovsky Russia
First Cow Kelly Reichardt United States
Mandibles Mandibules Quentin Dupieux France
Mitra Kaweh Modiri Netherlands, Germany, Denmark
Night of the Kings La nuit des rois Philippe Lacôte France, Côte d'Ivoire, Canada
Quo Vadis, Aida? Jasmila Žbanić Bosnia and Herzegovina
Riders of Justice Retfærdighedens ryttere Anders Thomas Jensen Denmark
Shorta Anders Ølholm, Frederik Louis Hviid Denmark
Suzanna Andler Benoît Jacquot France
Sweat Magnus von Horn Poland

Short & Mid-length

edit

The programmes highlighted mid-length films and short films.[13]

English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
200 Cigarettes from Now Tianyu Ma China, United States
Aasivissuit Jasper Coppes Netherlands, Greenland
Art Blasé Erik van Lieshout Netherlands
Bare Bones Meryem Lahlou United States
Bela Prantik Basu India
The Blind Rabbit Pallavi Paul India
Easter Eggs Nicolas Keppens Belgium, France, Netherlands
Her and I Ella i jo Jaume Claret Muxart Spain
Home Sweet Home Franck Moka Democratic Republic of the Congo
Improvised Objects Katja Verheul Netherlands
In the Air Tonight Andrew Norman Wilson United States
In the Footsteps of Li Yuan-chia & Delia Derbyshire Madelon Hooykaas Netherlands, United Kingdom
Jesus Egon Christ Jesus Egon Christus David Vajda, Saša Vajda Germany
Kaimos Sarra Tsorakidis Romania
The Last One Sonuncu Fariz Ahmedov Azerbaijan
Lata Alisha Tejpal India
Meet Doug Le Boug Doug Théo Jollet France
Message from Mukalap Judith Westerveld Netherlands, South Africa
More Happiness Livia Huang United States
No One Cried Daniel Jacoby Netherlands, Germany
The Old Child Felipe Esparza Pérez France
One Image, Two Acts Yek tasveer, do bardasht Sanaz Sohrabi Canada, Germany, United States, Iran
P-9830 Michiel van Bakel Netherlands
Palma Alexe Poukine France, Belgium
PINPIN Jaime Levinas Argentina, United States
Riff-Raff Rafameia Mariah Teixeira, Nanda Félix Brazil
El rodeo Carlos Melián Moreno Cuba
Scylos Maaike Anne Stevens Netherlands, United Kingdom
Seeking Aline À la recherche d'Aline Rokhaya Marieme Balde Switzerland
Silence Amirali Navaee Iran
The Trees Ramzi Bashour Lebanon
Tripsitter Frederique Pisuisse Netherlands
Underground Cemetery Wisarut Sriputsomboon Thailand
UNEARTH – In Between States of Matter Anika Schwarzlose, Brian D. McKenna Russia, Netherlands, Germany
Unrendered Road Tali Liberman Israel, Palestine, Netherlands
Veronica Talita Caselato Brazil
World Ashkhar Christine Haroutounian Armenia, United States

Awards

edit

Awards and competition

edit

Audience Awards

edit

Critics Awards

edit
  • FIPRESCI Award: The Edge of Daybreak by Taiki Sakpisit
  • KNF Award: Manifesto by Ane Hjort Guttu

References

edit
  1. ^ Meza, Ed (1 February 2021). "Rotterdam Film Festival Celebrates 50 Years With Innovative Edition". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  2. ^ Meza, Ed (1 June 2021). "Rotterdam Kicks Off Summer Edition With New Harbour Section, Vast Program". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  3. ^ Rosser, Michael (April 15, 2021). "Rotterdam reveals first titles for June event, shifting to hybrid format". Screendaily. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Roxborough, Scott (February 7, 2021). "'Pebbles' Wins Top Honor at 2021 Rotterdam Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "Tiger Competition 2021 selection". International Film Festival Rotterdam. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Big Screen Competition 2021 selection". International Film Festival Rotterdam. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Ammodo Tiger Short Competition 2021 selection". International Film Festival Rotterdam. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  8. ^ "IFFR 2021 first programme announcements". International Film Festival Rotterdam. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Bright Future". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Cinema Regained". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Harbour". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Limelight". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Short & Mid-length". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
edit