Rotterdam 2005

At this major event where the FIPRESCI jury is joined by three young trainees who have their first experience of an international festival, the South Korean film Spying Cam (Frakchi) by Whang Cheol-Mean received our award. Details of the prize

Reports :

My appointment with Theo... Hassouna Mansouri on the presence of Theo Van Gogh's spirit within the festival.

Crime and Punishment in South Korea. Fritz de Jong reviews the film awarded with the International Critics' prize, Spying Cam (Frakchi) by Whang Cheol-Mean.

Last Life in the Universe. Diego Lerer sees something essentially cinematic in El cielo gira (The Sky Turns), "the magnificent first film by Spanish filmmaker Mercedes Alvarez", winner of a Tiger Award.

The 4 Obstructions. One of the most "widely talked about" Tiger competition films, 4, by Ilya Khrzhanovsky, belongs to a new kind of Russian cinema that's "shocking and radical", has greater "technical and financial" means, and aspires for a large audience. Susanna Harutyunyan explains.

Young Film Critics. Belinda van de Graaf introduces the young critics who were invited to join the festival - and the FIPRESCI jury. Ninian Doff (Scotland) summarises all 14 films in the Tiger selection, and concludes that it is better to be ambitious and fail than play it safe. Susitha R. Fernando (Sri Lanka) appreciates the diversity of short films. Evgeny Gusyatrnskiy (Russia) reviews Paradise Girls by Fow Pyng Hu.