In his second edition as head of IFFR Pro, the industry strand of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Marten Rabarts believe the festival is again becoming a magnet for the best new projects from Asian and US indie filmmakers.
The Dispute, a buzzy comedy from US writer-directors Andrea Ellsworth and Kasey Elise Walker, is among the projects in the 43rd edition of the CineMart, the festival’s long-running coproduction market.
The project already has support from Riley Keough’s Felix Culpa and Donald Glover’s Gilga.
For Rabarts, the inclusion of such a high-profile English-language project echoes the days when US indie stalwarts Christine Vachon, Todd Haynes, Tom Kalin, Scott Macaulay and James Schamus attended IFFR and CineMart regularly.
“They were looking for support as they were not finding it so much at home,” he says.
He believes CineMart could again become an important hub for US independents. “[The Dispute] is driven by two young African-American women. We have always looked to support projects coming from minority communities.”
“We salute Felix Culpa for being at the forefront of US companies proactively joining forces with European and global partners to create successful international co-productions.”
At the same time, Rabarts points to the strong lineup of projects from Asian filmmakers in CineMart. He cites Lê Bảo’s Hearing (Singapore/Vietnam), Kang Bo’s Kingdom Of The Insomniacs (China), Ridham Janve’s Portuguese Man O War (India), and Whammy Alcazaren’s Noodles, Our Love Was Instant And Forever (Philippines) and says they represent a “return to form for CineMart”.
The event, he suggests, is re-establishing itself as a “significant bridge between independent Asian auteur cinema and the West”.
Safe harbour
When Rabarts took over at IFFR Pro in late 2024, he only had a couple of months until the 2025 festival started. At times, he felt as if he was jumping aboard “a moving train that had already left the station”.
To pursue his own metaphor, this year Rabarts is the engine driver. Many of the obstacles on the track remain the same. He talks of the ongoing global economic chaos and political persecution.
“Unfortunately, the world is still on fire,” he suggests. “Things have gone from bad to worse, which is something we’ve been really sensitive to and aware of.”
That is why the festival has set up the Safe Harbour programme within CineMart for stateless and at-risk filmmakers. Directors from Myanmar (Sein Lyan Tun), Sudan (Noura Adli), Syria (Ziad Kalthoum) and Palestine/Gaza (Amjad Sokkar and Woroud Alqassas) will all be presenting new projects.
“Filmmakers who are refugees or living in exile don’t have access to the normal machinery that filmmakers living in the West do. They may not have the legal status that allows them to apply to their national film fund,” Rabarts notes.
The aim is to “lower the barriers” so they can still participate in CineMart. Unlike other participants, they don’t necessarily need to have a coproducer aboard or to have secured 25% at least of their budget. “It’s just them and their talent. They can stand tall with us.”
These four projects come in addition to the 21 titles that conform to the usual selection criteria.
Another new initiative is Light Room, showcasing nine VR and immersive projects “in a specialised new market strand. This sits alongside Darkroom, the strand for works in progress, which has nine titles this year, including disabled Dutch director Mari Sanders’ groundbreaking Get Up Stand Up, a love story about a wheelchair-bound young couple. “It’s a terrific film now in the editing stage,” Rabarts says.
Talks
Surveying the entire industry programme, Rabarts hails the “huge variety in terms of style, taste and cinema language”.
As well as showcasing new projects, IFFR Pro will be holding various panels on the challenges facing the industry. Sessions range from Katriel Schory, the respected former head of the Israeli Film Fund, sharing insights on how to produce on a shoestring, to another ‘Pulling Focus’ event highlighting rapidly growing Dutch success on the international stage. This will also include a Dutch “Talent Market” dedicated to below-the-line professionals, including production designers, editors, and composers who are crucial to coproduction.
Meanwhile, leading figures from the UK industry, including Mia Bays, director of the BFI Film Fund, are expected in town as the Dutch and UK film industries continue to explore opportunities to work more closely together.
Two projects from the CineMart will head on to the Berlin coproduction market as part of the Rotterdam-Berlinale express - US title The Dispute and Beirut Baby by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige.
“Our shared aim is to enable them to take big steps creatively and financially towards reaching their international audiences,” Rabarts observes of the long-running partnership with the Berlinale.
Over recent years, it has helped to kick-start notable films such as Radu Jude’s Golden Bear-winning Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn and Oscar shortlisted Colombian movie Birds Of Passage by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra.
No comments yet