Annual Report 2019-2020

Finance & Organisation

From stable financial footing, IFFR has been able to increase income generated from ticket sales and support from new partnerships.

The total annual IFFR budget in 2020 amounted to over €9 million. This not only covers the festival itself, but all year-round events and professional activities, including the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF, which supports filmmakers worldwide) and co-production market CineMart.

As an audience-driven festival, IFFR raises a significant percentage of its annual income through revenue from ticket sales, merchandise, food and beverages, and professional accreditation fees. Support from private donations, private funds, advertisement sales and distribution make up another significant stream of income. Combined, IFFR generates over 60% of its annual budget from private sources. In 2020, IFFR saw a 4% increase in visits, bringing the number of festival admissions to a total of 340,000.

The festival maintains strong ties with its main partners BankGiro Loterij, Fonds 21, Stichting Droom en Daad, vfonds and de Volkskrant. Thanks to the continued support of Stichting Droom en Daad, IFFR made significant steps in professionalising the organisation, strengthening the festival’s international position and investing in its digital services – read more about IFFR’s digital innovations here.

Private funds also include contributions from donors in the Tiger Film MecenaatTigress and Tiger Business Lounge programmes. The festival also receives in-kind sponsorship from many other partners and suppliers. Read more about our partnerships here.

The remaining income, amounting to approximately 40%, comes from public funds and institutions, including government and project-based contributions. This includes the long-term support from the municipality of Rotterdam and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Project-based contributions include support from Creative Europe, Netherlands Film Fund (for IFFR Pro activities) and Rotterdam Festivals.

The varied and extensive support provided on divergent fronts is crucial to realising each edition of IFFR. The festival is grateful for its partners, funders and visitors, who collectively helped realise IFFR 2020 and contributed to building a healthy foundation for the upcoming 50th edition in 2021.

Organisation

To realise its festival activities, IFFR relies on 35 staff members working round the year as well as 45 temporary employees, 100 freelancers, and nearly 1,000 volunteers. The team is divided into different departments led by the directorial duo of a managing and festival director (in 2019/2020 they were Marjan van der Haar and Bero Beyer respectively – Vanja Kaludjercic has taken over from Beyer as festival director since February 2020). The festival actively invites students to take up internships and gain experience in the cultural sector.

IFFR follows the Dutch Fair Practice Code and its supervisory board works in accordance with the Governance Code Cultuur aimed at subsidised cultural institutions in the Netherlands. The festival embraces values of solidarity, sustainability, diversity, trust and transparency and aims to run a balanced and inclusive operation. To address interpersonal issues, IFFR has its own designated confidential counsellors and also works with anonymous service line Mores.online.

In showing films from around the world, the festival supports independent artistic filmmakers and their work. Though data are vital for internal analysis and to keep the festival inclusive in terms of its film programme, organisation, partnerships and audiences, IFFR does not believe in installing quotas for film selection concerning gender, identity, sexuality or ethnic background. IFFR does not ask for personal data upon film submission. The festival believes change is most effectively enforced by supporting the creation of great films by filmmakers from countries where film infrastructure or freedom of speech are lacking.