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IFFR 2023 IFFR Pro

The 40th edition of Rotterdam’s CineMart welcomes a host of intriguing European projects

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- The selected projects tackle the struggle between creative expression and motherhood, euphoria and dysphoria, and also include an immersive gay simulator

The 40th edition of Rotterdam’s CineMart welcomes a host of intriguing European projects
The directors taking part in CineMart this year

The 40th-anniversary edition of CineMart (29 January-1 February), International Film Festival Rotterdam’s co-production market, has selected a total of 20 feature-length and five immersive projects. All five of the latter projects are European productions, while European countries are behind 13 of the feature films.

Polish filmmaker Anna Zamecka, the director of Communion [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, will be bringing the hybrid documentary Słońce to Rotterdam, produced by Madants. The film follows young Iraqi-Kurds who are making the journey to Belarus. Dutch-born, UK-based editor and director Jack Goessens (Outlander, Three Pines) will present his first feature-length debut as a writer-director, Boifriend, produced by Bombito Productions. The character-driven story revolves around a lesbian who starts to explore dating and the LGBT community. After she starts being plagued by visions of dysphoria, she starts to question her identity and her place in the community. The project previously came out on top at the 2022 CineSud Royal Film Pitch.

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Marta Parlatore explores a Polish migrant’s struggle between creative expression and motherhood in Grushka, produced by Volya Films and A Private View, which is also taking part in the BoostNL programme. Sweden’s Plattform Produktion returns to CineMart to present Redoubt by John Skoog, the continuation of an award-winning 2014 short of the same name (see the news), painting a portrait of farm worker Karl-Göran Persson, who turned his home into a fortress. Marina Stepanska, the director of Falling [+see also:
trailer
interview: Marina Stepanska
film profile
]
, explores the lives of three generations of Ukrainian women in Consider Vera, which is being produced by Esse Production House. As part of the cooperation between CineMart and When East Meets West, the co-production forum at the Trieste Film Festival, When the Kids Sing the Hits by Mina Djukic will have the chance to be presented at both markets. The project is a portrait of three friends during the twilight days of Yugoslavia. Pablo Lamar won the Special Jury Award in the Tiger Competition at IFFR 2016 for his debut, The Last Land (see the news), and he now returns with his sophomore feature, Remanso, set in the 1970s during the dictatorship in Paraguay.

Among the selection of immersive projects is Anti-Muse by rapper, artist and filmmaker Baloji, a surreal narrative combining music, dance and scenography, set amongst the tropical plants of the Royal Greenhouses, a symbol of the Belgian colonisation of Congo; it is being staged by Amok and Wrong Men. Iris van der Meule will present an interactive virtual-reality artwork and video game which will immerse the user in the experiences of a lesbian girl. Titled Gay Simulator, it is being produced by Studio Biarritz.

The full IFFR Pro schedule will run from 25 January-5 February. The IFFR Pro Awards will be presented on 31 January, and they include the Eurimages Co-production Development Award, the ARTEKino International Prize, the Wouter Barendrecht Award and the 4DR Studios Award. A brand-new trophy will also be handed out in partnership with VIPO (the Visual Industry Promotion Organisation), which promotes the “Japanese content industry”.

Here is the complete selection of projects partaking in the 2023 edition of CineMart:

108 Days - Lucky Kuswand (Indonesia)
Production company: Palari Films

7 P.M. on a Sunday - Sevgi Eker (Finland)
Production company: Helsinki-filmi Oy

Apetown - Kurt Orderson (South Africa)
Production companies: Apetown Productions, BuMP Films, Azania Rizing Productions, seriousFilm

Boifriend - Jack Goessens (UK)
Production company: Bombito Productions

The Burning Giants - Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (Thailand)
Production company: Diversion

Brace Yourself - Thati Pele (South Africa/Netherlands)
Production companies: URUCU, BALDR Film

Cerro Corá - Francisco Márquez (Argentina/Paraguay/Brazil)
Production companies: Pensar con las manos, Tekoha, Terceira Margem, Multiverso

Consider Vera - Marina Stepanska (Ukraine)
Production company: ESSE Production House

Eldorado - Alaa Eddine Aljem (Morocco/France)
Production companies: Le Moindre Geste, In Vivo Films

Eyes Closed - Jenneke Boeijink (Netherlands)
Production company: BIND

Grushka - Marta Parlatore (Netherlands/Belgium)
Production companies: Volya Films, A Private View

Las tierras que te buscan - Juanita Onzaga (Colombia)
Production company: Marginal Cine

Little War - Barbara Sarasola-Day (Argentina)
Production company: Pucará Cine

The Poison Cat - Tian Guan (China)
Production company: Beijing Guanyu Film

Redoubt - John Skoog (Sweden)
Production companies: Plattform Produktion, BCD Film

Remanso - Pablo Lamar (Paraguay/Brazil/Netherlands/Argentina)
Production companies: Sapukai Cine, Sabaté Films, Sancho Filmes, Revolver Amsterdam, Fortuna Films, Tarea Fina

Słońce - Anna Zamecka (Poland)
Production company: Madants

The Surrogate - Ali Jaberansari (Mexico/UK)
Production companies: The Lift, Here & There Productions

Heads or Tails? - Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis (Italy/France)
Production companies: Ring Film, Shellac Sud

When the Kids Sing the Hits - Mina Djukic (Serbia/Montenegro)
Production companies: Sense Production, Adriatic Western

Immersive projects

369 - Ananda Safo (France)
Production company: TEN2TEN Films

Ancestors - Hanna Haaslahti (Finland/Germany)
Production companies: Fantomatico, Poike Production, High Road Stories

Anti-Muse - Baloji (Belgium)
Production companies: Amok, Wrong Men

Gay Simulator - Iris van der Meule (Netherlands)
Production company: Studio Biarritz

The Mask Maker and the Tree - Abner Preis (Netherlands)
Production company: Institute of Time

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