Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR) co-director Simon Field is to become a director of UK production company Illuminations Films.

Field will take up the position at the end of this year's festival, which runs from Jan 21 until Feb 1. Sandra Den Hamer, who has been co-director with Field for several years, will take over as general director of the festival on March 1.

Illuminations Films is run by Keith Griffiths and John Wyver. The company has produced films by, among others, Jan Svankmajer, the Quay brothers, Chris Petit and Patrick Keiller.

Before joining the IFFR in 1996, Field worked regularly with Illuminations' Griffiths as a documentary maker and reporter exploring a range of high-brow art themes.

Simon Field will remain involved with the festival as a member of the Selection Committee of the Hubert Bals Fund. One of his first projects following the festival will be to act as Executive Producer, along with producer Keith Griffiths, for a series of films to be commissioned for the City of Vienna's Mozart anniversary in 2006.

These films will be part of the new commissions in music, architecture and film being made under the artistic direction of theatre and opera director Peter Sellars for his anniversary project New Crowned Hope.

Field added: "I expect to get involved in other Illuminations projects and we will look at international production and distribution options in DVD. These are interesting times. Film-makers are working in more economical and freer ways because of digital."