Rotterdam Festival Announces Competitions and Opening Film: Lamb of God
Press Release

Fifteen films have been selected for Rotterdam’s VPRO Tiger Awards Competition. The line up consists of eight world premieres, two international premieres and five European premieres. As always, all are first or second features by young, promising filmmakers. Five competition films have been supported by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund.

The festival will open January 23 with the world premiere of Lamb of God (Cordero de dios), the first feature by Lucía Cedrón (Argentina). The film is also selected for the Tiger Competition. For the Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films, the festival has selected twenty films.

Rutger Wolfson, director of the 37th Rotterdam festival, says about the Tiger Competition line up: “This edition’s Competition for first or second films reflects the festival’s diversity in programming, and features what may be a wider range than ever in style, attitude, origin or topic. Festival programmers Ludmila Cvikova, Gerwin Tamsma and Gertjan Zuilhof have chosen films that are striking on a visual, formal, and narrative level, and show the unmistakable talent of the makers. We are proud to present this very strong group of talents in the Tiger Competition, our platform that has launched so many of their colleagues into the international film world over the last thirteen years. Making this selection, we have been moved by the many different stories told in very different ways, taking us to the hearts and minds of characters from all over the world, from Kazakhstan, USA, Denmark, Ukraine, China, Greece and Chile, amongst others. This Tiger Competition shows the ways of filmmaking and the filmmakers for the future”. “I feel Lamb of God (Cordero de dios) is an Opening Night Film made in true Rotterdam vein. Produced by veteran producer Lita Stantic, Lucía Cedrón’s film stands out as an exceptionally accomplished feature film début. Lamb of God shows the connections between very personal stories and family histories and the political, historical events of her country, Argentina, in an intelligent, controlled and, finally, emotional way.”

IFFR 2008’s Opening Night film, Lamb of God (Cordero de dios) tells a gripping family drama about the kidnap of 77-year old Arturo during Argentina’s economic crisis in 2002. This forces his daughter, who has been living in exile since 1978, to return to Buenos Aires. Little by little, the past is echoed in the present, reshaping the way current events are understood. Lamb of God is selected for Rotterdam’s VPRO Tiger Awards Competition and has been supported by the festival’s Hubert Bals Fund. Earlier Lita Stantic productions are wayward masterpieces like Lucrecia Martel’s The Holy Girl (La nina santa, 2004) and Paz Encina’s Paraguayan Hammock (Hamaca Paraguaya, 2006).

The Tiger Awards Jury to select the winning feature films consists of Iranian filmmaker and Jury President Jafar Panahi (who’s film project Return is one of the 2008 CineMart Projects), Russian filmmaker and actress Renata Litvinova (she can be seen in Kira Muratova’s Two in One that screens in the festival), Locarno Film Festival Deputy Director Tiziana Finzi, Dutch former Filmmuseum Deputy Director Rieks Hadders and Singapore filmmaker Royston Tan (his feature film 881 and short documentary Sin Sai Hong screen in the festival).

The Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films consists of Dutch visual artist Moniek Toebosch, Belgium programmer of Cinema Nova Katia Rossini and Canadian video artist Mike Hoolboom (his experimental short feature School screens in the festival).

The three winning short films will be announced in Monday January 28 and the winning features during IFFR 2008’s Award Ceremony, to be held on Friday February 1. The three equal VPRO Tiger Awards each come with Euro 15,000 and guaranteed Dutch television screening by IFFR’s main sponsor, public network VPRO; the three equal Tiger Awards for Short Films each come with Euro 3,000.

The 15 films in IFFR 2008’s VPRO Tiger Awards Competition (in alphabetical order by international film title)

• Eat, for This Is My Body (Mange, ceci est mon corps) by Michelange Quay (France/Haïti, 2007), European premiere
• Flower in the Pocket by Liew Seng Tat (Malaysia, 2007), European premiere
• Fujian Blue (Jin bi hui huang) by Wemg Shou-ming (China, 2007), European premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film
• Go with Peace Jamil (Ma salama Jamil) by Omar Shargawi (Denmark, 2008), world premiere
• The King of Ping Pong (PingPong-Kingen) by Jens Jonsson (Sweden, 2007), European premiere
• Lamb of God (Cordero de dios) by Lucía Cedrón (Argentina, 2008), world premiere, Opening Film, Hubert Bals Fund supported film
• Las meninas by Igor Podolchak & Dean Karr (Ukraine, 2008), world premiere
• Shanghai Trance by David Verbeek (The Netherlands, 2008), world premiere
• The Sky, the Earth and the Rain (El cielo, la tierra y la lluvia) by José Luis Torres Leiva (Chili, 2008), world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film
• Strizh by Abai Kulbai (Kazakhstan 2007), international premiere
• Tale 52 (Istoria 52) by Alexiou Alexis (Greece, 2008), world premiere
• Waltz in Starlight (Hoshikageno Waltz) by Shingo Wakagi (Japan, 2007), international premiere
• Wellness by Jake Mahaffy (USA, 2008), world premiere
• Wonderful Town by Aditya Assarat (Thailand, 2007), European premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film
• Years When I Was a Child Outside (Taon noong ako’y anak sa labas) by John Torres (Philippines, 2008), world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film

The 20 short films in IFFR 2008’s Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films: (in alphabetical order by international film title)

• 27,000 Days by Naveen Singh (USA, 2007), 10’, international premiere
• 5 Walks by Anna Abrahams (The Netherlands, 2008), 15’, world premiere
• The Adventure by Mike Brune (USA, 2008), 22’, world premiere
• Ah, Liberty! by Ben Rivers (UK, 2008), 20’, world premiere
• Allen Ginsberg Gives Great Head by X’Ho (Singapore, 2007), 15’, European premiere
• As I Lay Dying by Ho Yuhang (Malaysia, 2007), 10’, European premiere
• Batbox/Beatbox by Jani Ruscica (Finland, 2007), 17’, international premiere
• Dear Bill Gates by Sarah Christman (USA, 2006), 17’, European premiere
• Elements of Nothing by Makino Takashi (Japan, 2007), 19’, international premiere
• Foggy Mountains Break Down More Than Non Foggy Mountains by Jessie Stead (USA, 2006), 59’, European premiere
• Half Teaspoon (Setengah sendok teh) by Ifa Isfansyah (Indonesia, 2008), 18’, world premiere
• Launch by Brian Doyle (USA, 2007), 24’, European premiere
• Loud_Things by Telcosystems (The Netherlands, 2008), 10’, world premiere
• Minot, North Dakota by Angelika Brudniak & Cynthia Madanski (USA, 2008), 18’, world premiere
• Mosaik mécanique by Norbert Pfaffenbichler (Austria, 2008), 9’, world premiere
• Nook & Cranny by Francien van Everdingen (The Netherlands, 2008), 3’, world premiere
• Observando el cielo by Jeanne Liotta (USA, 2007), 19’, European premiere
• The Rocket by Uruphong Raksasad (Thailand, 2007), 19’, European premiere
• Sketch Film #5 by Tomonari Nishikawa (USA, 2007), 3’, European premiere
• Vertigo Rush by Johann Lurf (Austria, 2007), 19’, international premiere