Editor

During the IFFR 2007 Awards Ceremony on Friday, February 2, 2007 in Concert and Congress Centre ‘de Doelen’ in Rotterdam, the winning films of the 36th International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced. The three VPRO Tiger Awards were granted to the Hubert Bals Fund supported Love Conquers All by Tan Chui Mui (Malaysia), The Unpolished (Die Unerzogenen) by Pia Marais (Germany) and, ex aequo, to Bog of Beasts (Baixio das bestas) by Claudio Assis (Brazil) and AFR by Morten Hartz Kaplers (Denmark). On Saturday February 3, 2007 the KPN Audience Award will be announced.

VPRO Tiger Awards
Fifteen films by first or second filmmakers competed in the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2007. The Jury consists of Portuguese filmmaker Teresa Villaverde, Dutch actress Maria Kraakman, Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye, British filmmaker and visual artist Isaac Julien and chairman of the Jury Piers Handling, Director of the Toronto International Film Festival.

The jury statements on the VPRO Tiger Award winning films:

Love Conquers All by Tan Chui Mui (Malaysia, 2006)
‘This film is a very subtle and highly sophisticated portrait of a young woman living a normal life until her relationship with a young man moves her in a direction that seems to be beyond her control. Her life-to-be is told to her half way through the film but despite this she falls into the trap that love has made for her. Classical in style and structure it is a film that speaks to the heart.’

The Unpolished (Die Unerzogenen) by Pia Marais (Germany, 2007)
‘The jury would like to commend The Unpolished for its nuanced portrayal of a young girl trying to find meaning in a society that has lost all sense of direction. Her instinctive search to better herself gives the film its emotive power. The filmmaker is also highly adept at creating a disturbing and unsettled reality assisted by the highly gifted performance of the young girl and her parents.’

Ex aequo:

Bog of Beasts (Baixio das bestas) by Claudio Assis (Brazil, 2006)
‘For its crudeness, energy, visual strength and for reminding us of the lack of options one has when born in a small isolated and desolated habitat. Without letting us ever forget the enormous power of nature’s elements.’

and

AFR by Morten Hartz Kaplers (Denmark, 2006)
‘This well crafted polemical film, utilizes a conceptual approach which comments on the blurring of reality and fiction. Its complex narrative approach is exceptionally achieved through its use of montage, which provides a provocative analysis of the way society is manipulated by modern media and politics.’


Each VPRO Tiger Award comes with a prize of Euro 10,000 and guaranteed broadcast by Dutch public television network VPRO.

NETPAC Award
The NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Jury, consisting of Teresa Kwong Pui Sze (Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong), Nashen Moodley (Durban International Film Festival, South Africa), and film maker Lav Diaz (Philippines), Film maker

Fourteen (Ju-yon-sai) by Hirosue Hiromasa (Japan, 2006)

“The Netpac Award goes to the meticulously made Fourteen by Hirosue Hiroyama for its insight into psychology generational barriers and for its bold analysis of complex culture.”


Two films received a Special Mention:

Dancing Bells (Chalanggai) by Deepak Kumaran Menon (Malaysia, 2007)
(supported by Hubert Bals Fund)

and

How is Your Fish Today? (Jin tian de yu ze me yang?) by Xiaolu Guo (China/United Kingdom, 2006)

“The jury was very impressed by Dancing Bells by Deepak Kumaran Menon for its simple, honest and deeply moving depiction of everyday life.
We also give a special mention to How Is Your Fish Today? by Xiaolu Guo, a philosophical journey through reality and fiction which is audacious in its structure and beautifully weaves together music and image.” .
FIPRESCI Award
The jury of the international association of film critics FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique), consisted of Pamela Biénzobas, Chile, jury chair, daily newspaper Diairo de Tercera; Karin Wolfs, The Netherlands, monthly film magazine de Filmkrant; Ayman Youssef, Egypt, daily newspaper Al-Hayat; Tomislav Kurelec, Croatia, bi-weekly magazine Vijenac; Alexis Tioseco, Philippines, online film magazine www.criticine.com.

The jury states: “For its intense depiction of one man’s struggle to acquire an identity; its confident direction, and the well articulated, engaging performance of its lead, the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics, FIPRESCI, decided to award the International Critics’ Prize to Me (Yo) by Rafa Cortés.“ Me (Yo) was selected for the the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition of the 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam.


KNF Award
The jury of the KNF, the Association of Dutch film critics, at the International Film Festival Rotterdam consisting of jury president Ronald Ockhuysen (daily newspaper de Volkskrant, The Netherlands), Jann Ruyters, daily newspaper Trouw, The Netherlands; Luc de Rooy, online film magazine www.8weekly.nl, The Netherlands; Paul van Es, weekly magazine Troskompas/TV-Krant, The Netherlands; Fritz de Jong, daily newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden en press agency GPD, The Netherlands. The KNF Jury has chosen its winner among films in Rotterdam 2007 official selection that have not yet been acquired for Dutch distribution.

The winner of the KNF Award is Operation Filmmaker van Nina Davinport (USA, 2007).

“The jury of the Circle of Dutch Filmjournalists (KNF) gives its award to the multilayered and funny documentary Operation Filmmaker. Following the footsteps of a young aspiring filmmaker from Baghdad, director Nina Davenport is constantly challenging herself and the viewer to (re-)consider western opinions on cultural differences, the responsibility that comes with charity, the limitations of the American Dream, and the ongoing violence in Iraq.”

To the KNF Award, a grant is attached for subtitling the film, sponsored by Holland Subtitling. The Award of the KNF is meant to promote the acquisition for distribution within The Netherlands.


Tiger Awards Competition for short film
The three Tiger Awards for Short Film were granted to Video Game by Vipin Vijay (India, 2006), Hinterland by Geoffrey Boulangé (France, 2007) and Bayrak (The Flag) by Köken Ergun (Turkey, 2007). Honourable Mentions were awarded to Vom innen; von aussen (About the Inside; From the Outside) by Albert Sackl (Austria, 2006) and You Can Walk Too by Cristina Lucas (Spain, 2006).

The jury for Tiger Awards for Short Film comprised Austrian filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky, New York-based media artist, theorist, curator and translator Keith Sanborn and Dutch artist Gijs Frieling (Jury President).
The Tiger Awards for Short Film are sponsored by the Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds, the Tiger Business Lounge and INHOLLAND University.

Prix UIP Rotterdam
The winner of the second ‘Prix UIP Rotterdam’ for short film (prize money: Euro 2,000) was presented to Amin by David Dusa (France/Germany/The Netherlands, 2006).

The jury consisted of jury president Keren Cytter (visual artist and writer, Germany), José Nuno Rodrigues (director Curtas Vila Do Conde – Internacional Film Festival, Portugal) and Jan Doense (director Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, The Netherlands).

The European Film Academy and UIP present a Prix UIP at fourteen film festivals across Europe. The prize includes 2,000 Euro and automatic nomination for the European Film Awards, the 1,600 members of the European Film Academy then vote for the winner. For the first ‘Prix UIP Rotterdam Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards’ (prize money: Euro 2,000) 15 European fiction films, of up to fifteen minutes, have been selected.


MovieSquad Award
The Rotterdam young people’s jury, consisting of Vincent van den Broek (17), Philip Corsius (18), Djie Tjwan Thung (18), Daphne Le Roux (17) and Tessa Verrijp (17) chose the winner out of twenty-two films in official Rotterdam 2007 selection. The award comprises Dutch distribution within the MovieZone educational film programme for young people and 2,000 Euro to be spend on its promotion among young people in The Netherlands.

The jury presented the MovieSquad Award to Reprise by Joachim Trier (Norway, 2006).

MovieSquad is an initiative of the Nederlands Instituut voor Filmeducatie (Dutch Institute for Film Education) in collaboration with the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Arte France Cinéma Awards
The Arte France Cinema Awards (each 10,000 Euro) for the best CineMart 2007 Projects were given to A Rational Solution by Jörgen Bergmark (Hepp Film, Sweden) and Les pieds nus sur les limaces by Fabienne Berthaud (Agat Films & Cie, France).

The Arte France Cinema Awards Jury 2007 consisted of Michel Reilhac (Arte France Cinema, France), Ilse Hughan (Fortuna Films, The Netherlands) en Isabelle Dubar (ID Distribution / ID Memento, France).

The Arte France Cinéma Awards are in cash, given to the producers towards financing the development of the awarded projects. By introducing the Award, Arte France Cinéma and CineMart aim to further support and promote the development and production of independent filmmaking.


Prince Claus Fund Film Grant
The seventh Prince Claus Fund Film Grant of 15,000 Euro has been awarded to the CineMart 2007 Project Independencia by Raya Martin (Cinematografica Independiente en Filipinas, Philippines). Raya Martins feature film Autohystoria and his short films Life Projections, Long Live Philippine Cinema! and Rambling From the Sea were selected for the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2007. The Grant was announced during the CineMart Closing Night Party on January 31, 2006.

The Jury of the 2007 Prince Claus Fund Film Grant consisted of: Ido Abram (director Binger Instituut, The Netherlands), Ronald Ockhuysen (film critic of De Volkskrant and Cinema.nl, The Netherlands) Intishal Al-Timimi (director Arab Film Festival, The Netherlands), Anup Singh (film-maker, India) and Emile Fallaux (the Netherlands), Jury chairman for the 2007 Prince Claus Fund Film Grant, editor-in-chief of the Dutch weekly ‘Vrij Nederland’ and member of the Board of the Prince Claus Fund.

The Prince Claus Fund Film Grant aims at supporting the first creative phase of the development of a film production.

Movies That Matter Award
The Mark of Cain by Marc Munden (UK, 2007), that had its world premiere in Rotterdam January 28, has been given the ‘ Movies that Matter Award’, consisting of a stipendium of 2,500 Euro. Out of ten films on human rights within the festival selection, the Jury choose the film ‘for its raw realism. The Mark of Cain shows us that occupation forces, the soldiers we like to call ‘our boys’, also commit war crimes.” The ‘Movies that Matter Award’ comes with a stipendium of Euro 2,500. The Jury gave an Honourable Mention to the documentary Bil’in habibti (Bil’in My Love) by Shai Carmeli Pollak (Israel, 2006).

The jury consisted of documentary filmmaker and activist Anand Patwardhan (India), writer Lieve Joris (Belgium) and filmmaker Vadim Perelman (Ukraine).
The Movies that Matter Foundation continues the activities of the film festival department of Amnesty International in The Netherlands.