The 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam, the 2020 installment of the

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

, took place on 22 January–2 February 2020. ''The Cloud In Her Room'' by Zheng Lu Xinyuan won the

Tiger Award The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

, the top prize.

Juries

Ammodo Tiger Short

*Nathanja van Dijk, filmmaker *Safia Benhaim, filmmaker *Greg de Cuir Jr., film curator and writer

Bright Future

*Beatriz Navas, director of ICAA Spain *Zsuzsanna Király, head of development at Komplizen Film * Michel Lipkes, Mexican filmmaker and director of Festival Internacional de Cine Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Official selection

Bright Future

The section highlighted work of young and emerging filmmakers, consisted of the Tiger competition, Ammodo Tiger Short competition, Bright Future competition, main, mid-length and short programmes.

Tiger

The following films were selected to compete for the

. The line-up was announced on 18 December 2019.

Ammodo Tiger Short

The following films were selected to compete for the Ammodo Tiger Short Competition. The line-up was announced on 4 December 2019.

Bright Future

The programme highlighted first feature films by aspiring filmmakers. ;In competition The following films were selected to compete for the Bright Future Award. The line-up was announced on 18 December 2019. ;Main programme The programme highlighted cutting-edge work of contemporary filmmakers and a selection of emerging talent.

Voices

The section consisted of: *Big Screen Competition *Voices main programme, which showcased the work of future in

arthouse cinema An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primaril ...

, *Limelight, which showcased international award-winners and festival favourites, *Rotterdämmerung, which showcased the work in hardcore film genres, *Scopitone, which showcased music documentaries, and *Voices Short.

Big Screen Competition

The following films were selected to compete for the VPRO Big Screen Award. The line-up was announced on 18 December 2019.

Voices Main Programme

The programme highlighted the work of future in

Limelight

The programme showcased international award-winners and festival favourites.

Rotterdämmerung

The programme showcased the work in hardcore film genres.

Deep Focus

The section highlighted work of compilations, retrospectives and other formats in cinema. The section consisted of: *Frameworks, which highlighted art films by emerging artists, *Signatures, which showcased new work of established filmmakers, *Regained, which showed restored classic films, films about filmmakers, experimental works and installations, *Beth B: War Is Never Over, which showcased the selection of work about female identity, power and sexuality, curated by

Beth B Scott B and Beth B (also known as Scott and Beth B, Beth and Scott B or The Bs after B Movies) were among the best-known New York No Wave underground film makers of the late 1970s and early 1980s. They went on to form an independent film p ...

, *Marion Hänsel, à la vie, which showcased the work of Marion Hänsel, and *Deep Focus Short, which paid tribute to Kiluanji Kia Henda and Leonardo Mouramateus.

Signatures

The programme showcased new work of established filmmakers.

Perspectives

The section presented the IFFR's thematic programme and showcased the relevant social and political issues in cinema. The section consisted of: *The Tyger Burns, which presented the contemporary work of old filmmakers, *Synergetic, which showcased the alternative histories of mainstream narrative in cinema, *Ordinary Heroes: Made in Hong Kong, which presented the political, social and economic tensions in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, *Sacred Beings, which presented the notion of queer culture,

gender fluidity Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and spiritualities outside the Western perspective, and *Wait and See, which showcased the work about patience.

Awards

The following awards were presented at the 49th edition:

Awards and competition

: ''The Cloud In Her Room'' by Zheng Lu Xinyuan *Special Jury Award: ''

Beasts Clawing at Straws ''Beasts Clawing at Straws'' (, Japanese: 藁にもすがる獣たち ''Wara ni mo sugaru kemonotachi'') is a 2020 South Korean black comedy crime thriller film written and directed by Kim Yong-hoon as his debut feature film. Based on the 2011 Ja ...

'' by Kim Yong-hoon *Ammodo Tiger Short Award: **''Apparition'' by Ismaïl Bahri **''Communicating Vessels'' by Maïder Fortuné, Annie MacDonell **''Sun Dog'' by Dorian Jespers *Robby Müller Award: Diego García *Big Screen Competition Award: '' A Perfectly Normal Family'' by Malou Reymann * NETPAC Award: ''

Nasir Nasir ( ar, ناصر, translit=Nāṣir) is a masculine given name, commonly found in Arabic which can mean "helper" or "one who gives victory" (grammatically the Stem I masculine singular active participle of consonantal verb root ''n-ṣ-r''). ...

'' by

Arun Karthick Arun Karthick (Tamil: அருண் கார்த்திக்; born 1992) is an Indian film director. His directorial debut ''Sivapuranam'' (2016) a Tamil language Film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Karthick's s ...

*Found Footage Award: ''My Mexican Bretzel'' by Nuria Giménez Lorang *IFFR Youth Jury Award: ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' by

Ladj Ly Ladj Ly (; born 19 March 1980 in Paris) is a French film director and screenwriter. He won a Jury Prize in Cannes Film Festival for ''Les Misérables'' in 2019. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Biography Ly's ...

Audience Awards

*BankGiro Loterij Audience Award: ''

Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

(B&W Version)'' by

Bong Joon-ho Bong Joon-ho (, ; Hanja: 奉俊昊; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black h ...

*Voices Short Award: ''Tabaski'' by Laurence Attali

Critics Awards

* FIPRESCI Award: ''Only You Alone'' by Zhou Zhou *KNF Award: ''

Kala azar Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar (Hindi: kālā āzār, "black sickness") or "black fever", is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and, without proper diagnosis and treatment, is associated with high fatality. Leishmaniasi ...

'' by Janis Rafailidou

References

External links

* {{Official website, iffr.com

Events in Rotterdam