The 54th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) set to run from January 30 to February 9, 2025, unveiled the thirteen titles spanning the Bright Future and Harbour programming strands having their world premiere at the festival.
The Bright Future selection at IFFR showcases new filmmakers with unique styles and original subjects, pushing the boundaries of contemporary filmmaking. Echoing Rotterdam’s port city identity, Harbour offers a haven to the full range of contemporary cinema that the festival champions.
The first wave of films feature returning IFFR alumni, including Daniel Hoesl, a former Tiger Award Winner for micro-budget experimental feature Soldate Jeannette with his newest work Un gran casino; Hubert Bals Fund awarded Pelin Esmer, who returns to the festival with a world premiere of And The Rest Will Follow; Christina Friedrich presenting The Night Is Dark and Brighter than the Day, which comes after her IFFR debut this year with ZONE; and avant-garde trailblazer Alexander Kluge returns after the world premiere of Cosmic Miniatures in the most recent edition of the festival, with Primitive Diversity for the 2025 installment.
Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR, said, “One of the biggest joys of curating IFFR is working with our team of programmers to create a line-up that showcases the breadth of cinematic experiences and a multitude of perspectives–and our first selection of titles demonstrates our commitment to this ambition. We can also see each year what a vital launch platform this is for titles that go on following their IFFR debut to commercial and critical success–and continue to champion and celebrate the progress of the projects we shared earlier this year in our 2024 edition. Across Bright Future and Harbour, we already have some incredible emerging and established voices, and an amazing blend of genres and human stories, that we know our avid and curious audiences are going to love discovering.”
The first selections across Bright Future and Harbour are as follows:
BRIGHT FUTURE
1 GIRL INFINITE (World Premiere)
Director: Lilly Hu
United States, Latvia, Singapore
Two teenage girls, Yin Jia and Tong Tong, live together in this color-drenched vision of Changsha, China. When Tong drifts away and falls in with a drug dealer, Yin Jia’s love for her means she’ll risk everything to keep Tong Tong by her side.
CAMP D’ÉTÉ (World Premiere)
Director: Mateo Ybarra
Switzerland, France
In Switzerland, the Scout Movement is not a nostalgic fantasy, but a vibrant social reality. This bubbly documentary captures the communal cycle of activities during a 14-day camp for youth. No reality TV-style contrived scenes here. This is a moving, joyful glimpse into life-changing experiences.
LATER IN THE CLEARING (World Premiere)
Director: Márton Tarkövi
Hungary, Spain
In a small Hungarian town, painter Péter Molnár leads filmmaker Márton Tarkövi on a journey through meadows, clearings, and Molnár’s drawings. The viewer joins them as they discuss art, time, and life itself.
INVISIBLE FLAME (World Premiere)
Director: Oskar Weimar
Kenya
When fish begin to vanish, community members are quick to blame Dani, the elderly woman rumored to be a witch. Daisy, a fisherman’s daughter, must decide whether to stand by her friend or heed the warnings of those around her.
YOUR TOUCH MAKES OTHERS INVISIBLE (World Premiere)
Director: Rajee Samarasinghe
Sri Lanka, United States
As many as 100,000 people, predominantly members of the minority Tamil community, are estimated to have disappeared during the 26-year-long Sri Lankan Civil War. Through a unique synthesis of interviews, news clips and re-enactments this docufiction feature reflects on this harrowing history as families search for loved ones that disappeared without a trace.
HARBOUR
AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW (World Premiere)
Director: Pelin Esmer
Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania
Dreamy housekeeper Aliye spends her days between hotel rooms, escaping into the lives of the guests. But after a brief encounter with a famous filmmaker, Aliye decides that she has a story to tell, which leads to an entanglement of lives and fictions.
DEAD DOG (World Premiere)
Director: Sarah Francis
Lebanon
Walid and Aida, husband and wife, are reunited after Walid’s many years spent living abroad. Sarah Francis seeks answers to long-hidden secrets by dissecting an estranged marriage.
FINDING RAMLEE (World Premiere)
Director: Megat Sharizal
Malaysia
An endearing retro dramedy set in swinging seventies, Kuala Lumpur. Destitute and deep in debt, his loan shark offers Zakaria a lifeline: impersonate the Malaysian screen icon P. Ramlee to entertain his homebound, time-warped sister.
NO DEJES A LOS NIÑOS SOLOS (World Premiere)
Director: Emilio Portes
Mexico
A mother moves into a new house with her two children. One night she must leave the siblings home alone. What begins as a blast of carefree play soon turns into a claustrophobic horror story.
PRIMITIVE DIVERSITY (World Premiere)
Director: Alexander Kluge
Germany
Filmmaker Alexander Kluge loves to use the expression ‘primitive diversity’ about the origins of his art: the first films that were made, their genres, motives, and moods. With the development of AI, Kluge asks, what could its primitive diversity look like?
THANK YOU SATAN (World Premiere)
Director: Hicham Lasri
Morocco, France
In this dark comedy set in the early 1990s, all Serge wants to do is write his Fucking Best Seller! When his publisher nags him to shake things up and bring out his ‘mainstream potential’, he gives it all he has and, with a killer edge.
THE NIGHT IS DARK AND BRIGHTER THAN THE DAY (World Premiere)
Director: Christina Friedrich
Germany
Filmmaker Christina Friedrich asks 33 primary school children about their fears, taking us on a long night journey through a magic world of their creation. What can the ‘real world’ learn from the games and rituals of children?
UN GRAN CASINO (World Premiere)
Director: Daniel Hoesl
Austria
The largest casino in Europe, but is it just a big mess? Daniel Hoesl presents Un gran casino as an angry reflection on a building, an Italian village, and everything people do in the name of creating wealth without limits.
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