46th International Film Festival Rotterdam
25 January - 5 February 2017
 

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has announced the first titles selected for the Bright Future programme, one of the four sections the festival programme consists of. Bright Future focuses on up-and-coming filmmakers with their own style and vision. The titles in competition will be announced in early January, but IFFR will now already reveal the first world premieres and the past year’s film highlights selected for Bright Future.

Many of the young filmmakers will be screening their work to an international audience for the first time in Rotterdam. This year, this includes the global premieres of films such as the acutely observed A Brief Excursion (Croatia, 2017) by filmmaker Igor Bezinović as well as Michel Lipkes´ second feature film Strange But True (Extraño pero verdadero, Mexico, 2017), a dark narrative about lovers who work as garbage collectors in Mexico City shot in black and white.

A Brief Excursion (left), Strange But True (right)

A lot of the films now announced have won prizes since their première in 2016. For instance, Antes que cante el gallo (Before the Rooster Crows, Puerto Rico, 2016) by Arí Maniel Cru won the Yellow Robin Award at IFFR Curacao 2016. Actor Andrzej Seweryn won the prize for Best Actor at the Locarno festival for his role in Jan Matuszyński's The Last Family (Poland, 2016). And, filmmaker Zhang Dalei won the Taipei Golden Horse Award for his wonderful debut The Summer is Gone (China, 2016).

The Last Family (left), Kékszakállú (right)

A considerable number of films in the Bright Future programme were co-financed by IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund and co-production market CineMart. These include Gastón Solnicki's mesmerising Kékszakállú (Argentina, 2016), the exceptionally original debut All the Cities of the North (Serbia/Bosnia and Herzegovina /Montenegro, 2016) by filmmaker Dane Komljen and Alessandro Commodin’s excellent second feature film I tempi felici verrano presto (Happy Times Will Come Soon,Italy, 2016).

Clockwise: The Summer is Gone, Antes que cante el gallo, All the Cities of the North, 
I tempi felici verrano presto

Bright Future was started in 2009 and features young, up-and-coming film talents with their own style and vision. Makers who dare to take risks with original, often daring works. The Hivos Tiger Competition, IFFR’s flagship competition, is part of the Bright Future programme. Debuting film makers who are not selected for the Hivos Tiger Competition and whose films have their global or international premieres at IFFR 2017 are eligible for a Bright Future Award.

An overview of confirmed Bright Future titles can be found below. The complete selection, as well as the competition titles, will be announced beginning of January.

Bright Future premieres
A Brief Excursion, Igor Bezinović, Croatia, world premiere
Burning Birds, Sanjeewa Pushpakumara, Sri Lanka/France, European premiere, HBF supported
Elon Doesn't Believe in Death, Ricardo Alves Jr., Brazil, European premiere, HBF supported
Extraño pero verdadero/ Strange But True, Michel Lipkes, Mexico, world premiere, HBF supported, CineMart 2013
La guerra dei cafoni/The War of Bumpkins, Davide Barletti, Lorenzo Conte, Italy, world premiere
 
Confirmed for Bright Future
All the Cities of the North, Dane Komljen, Serbia/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Montenegro, HBF supported
Antes que cante el gallo/Before the Rooster Crows, Arí Maniel Cruz, Puerto Rico
By the Time It Gets Dark, Anocha Suwichakornpong, Thailand/Netherlands/France/Qatar, HBF supported, CineMart 2010
Los decentes, Lukas Valenta Rinner, Argentina/South Korea/Austria
Die Einsiedler, Ronny Trocker, Germany
El futuro perfecto, Nele Wohlatz, Argentina
Kékszakállú, Gastón Solnicki, Argentina, HBF supported
The Last Family, Jan P. Matuszyński, Poland
The Last of Us, Ala Eddine Slim, Tunisia, HBF supported
The Levelling, Hope Dickson Leach, United Kingdom
Mimosas, Oliver Laxe, Morocco/Spain/France/Qatar
Prevenge, Alice Lowe, United Kingdom
Solo, Solitude, Yosep Anggi Noen, Indonesia, HBF supported
The Summer Is Gone, Zhang Dalei, China
I tempi felici veranno presto/Happy Times Will Come Soon, Alessandro Comodin, Italy, CineMart 2014
Wùlu, Daouda Coulibaly, France/Senegal
X500, Juan Andrés Arango, Canada/Colombia/Mexico

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) – one of the Netherlands’ largest cultural events and one of the biggest audience-oriented film festivals in the world – will take place from Wednesday 25 January – Sunday 5 February 2017. Featuring the latest feature films, documentaries, short films, exhibitions, performances and talk shows, Rotterdam will be the exciting, global capital of cinema for 12 days. De Doelen are the festival’s nerve centre and meeting place. The venue will host live performances, debates and Q&A’s with filmmakers and actors; every evening of screening will conclude with a spectacular party at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg. More information at IFFR.com. Official ticket sales start on Friday 20 January 2017.