44th International Film Festival Rotterdam
21 January - 1 February 2015
Rotterdam, 29 January 2015
TONIC IMMOBILITY, LUXEMBOURG & SANTA Y DELFIN
named as winners
The CineMart 2015 awards were announced yesterday evening, marking the close of the 32nd edition of the co-production market. Dutch/French/Belgian production TONIC IMMOBILITY was awarded the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000, which is given to a project presented by a European producer. Ukrainian/German production LUXEMBOURG was awarded the €7,000 ARTE International Prize and the inaugural Wouter Barendrecht Award went to Carlos Lechuga and his new project SANTA Y DELFIN. The prize of €5,000 is given by CineMart in conjunction with Fortissimo Films, the Netherlands/Hong Kong based international sales agent of which Barendrecht was founder and co-chairman. Eligible for the Wouter Barendrecht Award are directors under 35 with a project selected for CineMart and directed no more than three feature films. The jury for the ARTE and Eurimages awards comprised of the Netherlands Film Fund’s Dorien van de Pas, producer Annamaria Lodato and Gabor Greiner, Films Boutique’s head of acquisitions. The Wouter Barendrecht Award is decided on by representatives of the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation, Nelleke and Ellis Driessen.
CineMart selected 24 international projects to participate in the four day event which has been one of the most successful in recent years. A panel discussion to launch IFFR’s new VoD initiative, Tiger Release, was well attended with several filmmakers now in discussion with the IFFR team on releasing their new films via this platform. Multiple conferences and panels covering topics ranging from “Making the most of a film festival” to “The Director-Producer Partnership” were held in front of packed audiences who were invited to be involved in the debates and receive advice. The "Creative Europe Day" on Tuesday, January 27th which offered advice and guidance on creating beyond the boundaries of Europe proved one of the highlights of IFFR 2015.
On making the announcement Head of Industry & CineMart, Marit van den Elshout commented “The quality of our line-up this year is something the whole team is very proud of - so many standout projects with talented teams behind them, the award winners exemplify this. We hosted multiple extremely well attended panels and conversations, experienced great success with the launch of Tiger Release and the enthusiasm with which our Creative Europe day was received all adds up to one of the strongest CineMart’s in a long time.”
This year’s Eurimages Co-Production Development Award winner, TONIC IMMOBILITY by Nathalie Teirlinck, (The Netherlands, France, Belgium), is a Bart van Langendonck, Xavier Rombaut, Savage Film production. It tells the story of Alice, an escort who abandons her baby son Robin. Unexpectedly, seven years later Alice is reunited with the boy and they must find a way to co-exist while Alice is confronted with the fact that true emotions can't be controlled and that intimacy can lead to vulnerability. On the Jury’s decision Dorien van de Pas commented “The award is being given to a project from a multitalented first time feature director who will tell a very emotional, universal story. His short films demonstrate a strong visual style in combination with a great focus on sound.”
The ARTE International Prize winner LUXEMBOURG (Ukraine, Germany) by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, and produced by Anna Katchko with Tandem Production is a film noir with touches of a western. A great project by a very talented director, stunningly set up for a strong and cinematic story. On presenting the award Annamaria Lodato commented. “This year the ARTE International Prize is awarded to a talented, daring and radical director. He is preparing a film that explores a world unknown to most of us: today’s Chernobyl. Far from being a ‘disaster film’, it is a story about living in the Chernobyl zone, a world with its own rules, an almost primitive community that the director knows from the inside.”
The Wouter Barendrecht Award winner SANTA Y DELFIN (Cuba), by Carlos Lechuga is produced by Claudia Calvino and Producciones de la 5ta Avenida. Cuba, homosexuality, censorship, working class and intellectuals, a young talented director and a real story - real potential for a hit project. On presenting the award Managing Director of Fortissimo Films, Nelleke Driessen commented “The Wouter Barendrecht Foundation (WBF) encourages the work of talented young filmmakers, we encourage daring films, films that oppose social conventions, with a large urgency. There were 8 films eligible for this award, but in the end only one can win and SANTA Y DELFIN stood out amongst all - if Wouter were here he would be thrilled with the choice.”
CineMart selected projects
A Shining Flaw by Erwin Olaf
Eyeworks Film & TV Drama, Netherlands
Cobain by Nanouk Leopold
Circe Films/Waterland Film, Netherlands
Vita & Virginia by Sacha Polak
Mirror Productions/Viking Film, United Kingdom/Netherlands
Tonic Immobility by Nathalie Teirlinck
Savage Film/CTM Pictures, Belgium/France/Netherlands
The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea by Syllas Tzoumerkas
Homemade Films/PRPL, Greece/Netherlands
Angel by Koen Mortier
CZAR FILM/Tobina Films/Anonymes Films, Belgium/Senegal/France
Ceux qui travaillent by Antoine Russbach
Box Productions, Switzerland
Cunningham by Alla Kovgan
Arsam International/Chance Operations, France/USA
La Fille de l’Estuaire by Gaëlle Denis
Life to Live Films, United Kingdom/France
Holiday by Isabella Eklöf
Dharmafilm/Beofilm, Denmark
Luxembourg by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy
Tandem Production/Garmata Film, Ukraine/Germany
Bat, Butterfly, Moth by Sergio Caballero
Corte y Confección de Películas/AM Films, Spain
The Gray Beyond by Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Jirafa Films/Wa Entertainment, Chile/Japan
Only the Dead Have Seen the End of the War by Khavn
Kamias Overground, Philippines
Rojo by Benjamin Naishtat
Pucará Cine, Argentina
La Barracuda by Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin
Small Drama/Hot Metal Films/Blue Suitcase Productions, USA
Boyfriend by Ashim Ahluwalia
Future East Film, India
Gabriel and the Mountain by Fellipe Barbosa
TvZero/Gamarosa Filmes, Brazil
Los Delincuentes by Rodrigo Moreno
Compañía Amateur/Rizoma, Argentina
Santa y Delfín by Carlos Lechuga
Producciones de la 5ta Avenida, Cuba
Kodokushi by Janus Victoria
Paperheart, Philippines/Malaysia/Japan
Art:Film projects
Cactus Flower by Hala Elkoussy
Transit Films, Egypt
Hurrah, Wir Leben Noch by Agnieszka Polska
Kijora Anna Gawlita/Museum of Modern Art Poland, Poland/Germany
Mr Sing Sing by Phil Collins
Shady Lane Productions, Germany/USA
CineMart was the first platform of its kind to offer filmmakers the opportunity to launch their projects to the international film industry and to be connected with appropriate industry executives to secure financing. Launching 24 new projects in need of additional financing, CineMart also heralds an important start of the '‘film year'’. Every year, the CineMart invites a select number of directors/producers to present their film projects to co-producers, bankers, funds, sales agents, distributors, TV stations and other potential financiers.
About the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation (WBFF)
In honour of Wouter Barendrecht, the founder and co-chairman of Fortissimo Films, a foundation (the WBFF) has been established, the goal of which is to encourage the work of talented young filmmakers. In cooperation with festivals directly associated with Wouter, the WBFF will make future award grants based on a process to be decided by the Foundation’s board of directors.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) offers a high quality line-up of carefully selected fiction and documentary feature films, short films and media art. The festival's Tiger Awards Competitions, Bright Future, Spectrum and Limelight sections contain new work by auteurs from all over the world including many World Premieres. In the Signals section, IFFR presents retrospectives and themed programmes. IFFR actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through numerous industry initiatives including co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund and Rotterdam Lab.
