07/12/2018 - The first batch of titles in the festival’s creative innovation section have been revealed

As the New Year approaches, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is lifting the lid on its various sections, one by one, offering glimpses of what to expect during its 48^th edition, which will run from 23 January-3 February 2019. After the first batch of titles for Limelight (see the news), it is now Bright Future’s turn to offer an initial overview of what is in store.

Known as IFFR’s starting point for creative innovation, Bright Future welcomes up-and-coming filmmakers who are ready to introduce their personal style and cinematic vision to the world. The final selection of films (features, mid-lengths and shorts) will reach a total of approximately 50 once the whole programme has been announced.

Seven movies by debuting directors that will have their international or world premieres are also eligible for the €10,000 Bright Future Award. Among them are the lyrical neo-noir Nocturne [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by award-winning Dutch short-film director Viktor van der Valk; Thirty [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Berlin-based filmmaker Simona Kostova, which follows 24 hours in the lives of a group of Berliners approaching their thirties; Portuguese director Ico Costa’s Alva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ico Costa
film profile], a revenge story about a loner of a father who lost his children to social services; and another Portuguese film, Around the World When You Were My Age [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Aya Koretzky, a portrait of the director’s father, who travelled the world in the 1970s.

It’s worth noting that the cash prize will be an incentive for the winning director’s next film project, and the jury that will decide on the victor comprises sales agents Christoph Friedel (Pandora Films), Sata Cissokho (Memento Films), and film critic and programmer Beatrice Fiorentino. The eight movies in the Tiger Competition, which is also part of the Bright Future section, will be announced in early January 2019.

So far, the Bright Future section comprises the following films:

Bright Future Competition

Again Once Again - Romina Paula (Argentina) 
Algiers by Night [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Yanis Koussim (Algeria/France/Norway/Qatar) 
Alva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ico Costa
film profile] - Ico Costa (Portugal/France/Argentina)
Around the World When You Were My Age [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Aya Koretzky (Portugal)
Fabiana - Brunna Laboissière (Brazil)
Nocturne [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Viktor van der Valk (Netherlands)
Thirty [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Simona Kostova (Germany)

Bright Future

Black Mother - Khalik Allah (Jamaica/USA)
Core of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Natalya Meshchaninova (Russia/Lithuania)
The Day I Lost My Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Soudade Kaadan
film profile] - Soudade Kaadan (Lebanon)
Introduzione all'oscuro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gastón Solnicki
film profile] - Gastón Solnicki (Argentina/Austria)
The Load [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ognjen Glavonić
film profile] - Ognjen Glavonić (Serbia/France/Croatia/Iran/Qatar)
Long Day's Journey Into Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Bi Gan (China/France)
The Man Who Surprised Everyone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Aleksey Chupov, Natasha Merkulova (Russia/Estonia/France)
Nona. If They Soak Me, I’ll Burn Them [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Camila José Donoso (Chile)
The Proposal - Jill Magid (USA)
The Seven Last Words - Kaveh Nabatian, Ariane Lorrain, Sophie Goyette, Juan Andrés Arango, Sophie Deraspe, Karl Lemieux, Caroline Monnet (Canada)
Sophia Antipolis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Virgil Vernier
film profile] - Virgil Vernier (France)
Too Late to Die Young [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Dominga Sotomayor (Chile/Brazil/Argentina/Netherlands/Qatar)

Bright Future Mid-length

Derrière les volets - Messaline Raverdy (Belgium)
L’inconnu de Collegno - Maïder Fortuné (France)

Bright Future Short

Fog - Inger Lise Hansen (Norway)
The Sound Drifts - Stefano Canapa (France) 
Still from Afar - Eva van Tongeren (Belgium)
Walled Unwalled - Lawrence Abu Hamdan (Lebanon)
What Remains - Belit Sağ (Netherlands)