Rotterdam 2008

The International Film Festival Rotterdam, now in its 37th year, has a high reputation among cinema art lovers, in particlar for its non-compromising politics of presenting an alternative to mainstream cinema. Its special interest in young filmmakers can be seen from the main competition, with the Tiger Awards (and, by the way, the FIPRESCI-Prize as an additional attraction), which is open to first and second feature-length films only. A good selection of sidebars though gives the audience (which attends the festival in astonishing numbers) the chance to see films of very different styles and profiles. Alongside with young filmmakers, also the work of well known directors was presented, among others Eric Rohmer, Ermanno Olmi, Alexander Sokurov. The festival offers a meeting place for discussion rather than glamour. The spirit of the sixties seems to live on here. Festivals became an important alternative to theaters that more and more depend on the major companies. It is only logical that a fund named after the founder of the Rotterdam Festival Hubert Bals supports the production of films that are shown not only in Rotterdam but also, see the last winner of the Golden Palm, in Cannes. (Thomas Rothschild)

The International Film Festival Rotterdam 2008 was headed by Rutger Wolfson, after the departure of Sandra den Hamer. After the festival, he has been appointed, for a period of four years, general director who has, as the festival informs, "the final responsibility for the artistic and business matters of the festival." 

Our jury presented the Prize of the International Critics, among the films in the Tiger Award Competition, to The Sky, the Earth and the Rain (El cielo, la tierra y la lluvia) by José Luis Torres Leiva (Chile, 2008).

Details of the FIPRESCI prize
Rotterdam Film Festival (January 23 - February 3, 2008): www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com

Reports:

Unanswered Questions. Thomas Rothschild notes some refreshing ambiguities in this year's films at Rotterdam.
Figures in a Landscape. André Waardenburg reflects on two Rotterdam prizewinners, Aditya Assarat's Wonderful Town, which won a Tiger Award and José Luis Torres Leiva 's The Sky, the Earth and the Rain (El cielo, la tierra y la lluvia), which received the FIPRESCI Award.
Songs of Innocence. Alberto Ramos feels the painful echoes of Argentina's past resonating through Lucía Cedrón's Lamb of God.
A Realistic Perspective on African Film. Télesphore MBA Bizo takes a comprehensive look at the continent's cinema at Rotterdam.

For the tenth time, the "Trainee Project for Young Film Critics" was organized. The festival offered six young, motivated and talented film critics from outside The Netherlands a chance to get acquainted with the festival and the cinema of the world. Here are the six trainees

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