Rotterdam unveils its 'Tigers'

by Boyd Van Hoeij

12/01/2012 - The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the 15 competing titles in its main competitive strand, the Tiger competition, which focuses on first and second films.

European films that are part of the competition include the Greek title L [trailer] from Babis Makridis (pictured), an "abstract comedy and existential drama" and the Polish film It Looks Pretty from a Distance, the directorial debut of visual artists Anka and Wilhelm Sasnal. The latter is described as a "physical portrait of a micro society".

Also from Eastern Europe is Serbian entry Clip [trailer, film focus], from Maja Milos, a disturbing portrait of contemporary Serbian youth. From the other side of the continent comes the Icelandic drama Black's Game [trailer]. Rookie director Óskar Thor Axelsson based the film on the bestselling Icelandic gangster story Black Curse by Stefán Máni. The film was executive produced by Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn.

Turkish-German entry Voice of My Father is the fiction debut of documentary film-makers Orhan Eskiköy and Zeynel Dogan and partially inspired by Dogan's family history. Dogan also plays one of the lead roles.

The Tiger Competition also includes entries from Brazil, Burma, Chile, China, Japan, Russia, South Koreau, Taiwan and Thailand. A full list can be found here.

The jury, which will award three Tiger Awards worth €15,000 each, is comprised of Brazilian actress-director Helena Ignez; Ludmila Cvikova, former IFFR programmer and current Head of International Programming of the Doha Film Institute; Tine Fischer, director of the CPH:DOX festival; Singaporean director Eric Khoo, whose animated film Tatsumi will also be screened at the festival and his Israeli colleague Samuel Maoz, whose Lebanon [trailer] won the Golden Lion in Venice in 2009.

The festival will open on January 25 with the world premiere of Lucas Belvaux's 38 Witnesses [trailer], France, and run to February 4.