The King's Speech, that took a Golden Globe yesterday for Best Dramatic Actor (Colin Firth) has been selected as Closing Night Film of the 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam. The Closing Night screening on Saturday February 5 will be preceded by the announcement of two festival prizes awarded by the festival audience: the UPC Audience Award for Best Festival Film and the Dioraphte Award for Best Festival Film supported by the IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund.

 
Tom Hooper's The King's Speech offers an intimate look at the British Royal family on the eve of World War II with a cast that includes Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon and Guy Pearce.
 
The King's Speech's true story tells about King George VI (Colin Firth) who gets speech therapy from Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to conquer his stuttering. The successor to the throne, George's older brother, has to abdicate, and the stutterer unexpectedly becomes king. Europe is on the brink of war, and the British are desperate for a charismatic leader who can address them reassuringly.
More than an historical costume drama, The King's Speech is a visually strong psychological drama with intelligent dialogues, beautiful camerawork and brilliant performances from Firth and Rush.
 
The King's Speech will be released in The Netherlands on February 17 by Paradiso Filmed Entertainment Netherlands.
 
The full festival programme will be published on Thursday, 20 January 2011, as an IFFR special insert in Dutch daily de Volkskrant and online at http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/. Online ticket sales for Tiger Friends only start on Thursday 20 January at 20.00 hours; the regular online box office opens on Friday 21 January at 20.00 hours. The festival box office is open from Tuesday 25 January 2011. The festival will take place from 26 January to 6 February 2011.

Web link: http://www.kingsspeech.com/