Eight new films presented to an audience jury of five film-lovers. The winning film gets a cinema release in the Netherlands and will be broadcast by VPRO.

IFFR 2019

Phaim Bhuiyan

Avoiding alcohol and pork is no problem for Phaim. But how do you rhyme infatuation with no sex before marriage?

Based on the life of the filmmaker himself, this romantic comedy tells the story of a second-generation immigrant in Rome. When he falls in love, his butterflies clash with parental expectations. A playful debut that tackles complex themes such as integration, multiculturalism, religion and identity without losing its light-hearted tone.

Voices

Big Screen Competition

Bangla

Anke Blondé

One day, Dorien’s happy life is transformed into smoking ruins in this dry comedy drama.

What to do if your parents' marriage is in crisis, your husband is behaving suspiciously and you discover a lump in your breast? Dorien experiences many misfortunes, one after another, but courageously carries on. Fabulously paced, warm, comedic drama.

The Best of Dorien B.

Itay Tal

Concert pianist Anat goes to extremes to ensure her son follows in the footsteps of her demanding father, a famous composer.

Concert pianist Anat goes to extremes to ensure her son follows in the footsteps of her demanding father, a famous composer. A suspenseful, chilling tale of a mother whose obsessive behaviour and mile-high expectations threaten to crush her close ones, and herself too.

God of the Piano

Penny Lane

The Satanic Temple is one of the most controversial religious movements in America. A dive into the world of some surprisingly charming Satanists.

'In God We Trust' is written on every dollar bill. But are the United States not secular? The Satanic Temple, founded in 2012 in Massachusetts, gives us a clear and contrary message, campaigns and causes quite a stir. This documentary takes a look at the world of some surprisingly charming Satanists.

Hail Satan?

Carlos Sorín

Nine-year-old adoptee not only puts his new parents’ relationship under pressure, but also their position in their community in Patagonia.

Joel Noguera wins our hearts playing a nine-year-old adopted boy, but the inhabitants of a small town in Patagonia are less taken with him. Subtle drama about adoption and living together. Veteran filmmaker Carlos Sorin (<strong>Historias minimas</strong>) makes unease, good intentions and the complex balance between these palpable in every scene.

Joel

May el-Toukhy

An ostensibly happy woman risks her marriage and family life by seducing her stepson.

Anne seems to have it all: a sweet husband, two adorable daughters and a satisfying job. But she risks it all by seducing her stepson. A complex role for Danish star Trine Dyrholm to sink her teeth into.

Queen of Hearts

Anna Eborn

She loves me? She loves me not? Uncertainty dominates the lives of youngsters in the tiny, unrecognised state of Transnistria.

Intimate look at young people’s lives in the tiny, unrecognised state of Transnistria, which split from Moldova in 1992. Teens with doubts about love, the economy and their future inhabit this dreamy documentary portrait that revolves around Tanya, who plays the field with six boys.

Transnistra

Anna Odell

Anna Odell cast herself and various renowned Scandinavian actors for her playful experiment about boundaries, (gender) identity and fact vs. fiction.

Anna Odell and fellow protagonist Mikael Persbrandt blur the boundary between fact and fiction in this idiosyncratic, social studio experiment with various identities and situations. With other actors and their alter egos, they adhere to Odell’s film plan, which ends, no one knows how. Least of all Odell and Persbrandt.

IFFR 2025
30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025