Annual Report 2020-2021

IFFR Pro, the industry community

Through structured funding, talent development, a strong co-production market and innovative conference programme, IFFR offers year-round guidance and support to all film professionals.

IFFR Pro Days 2021

The first ever virtual IFFR Pro Days took place during the February festival chapter, hosting CineMart, Rotterdam Lab and the Pro Hub. Events were recorded and live-streamed from the IFFR studio in Rotterdam with meeting opportunities taking place digitally. The format ensured that despite challenging circumstances, IFFR Pro upheld its commitment to supporting filmmakers, making their work visible, and offering a platform for industry professionals to broaden their network and share knowledge and expertise.

“I am very, very grateful for having participated in this warm, strange and special IFFR edition! It was beyond any expectations and I really hope I can come back physically next year. I think it’s a wonderful, inclusive and rich festival that I feel close to, that I hugely respect and recommend.”
– Participating filmmaker

Co-production market – CineMart

IFFR’s international co-production market is a platform for filmmakers to find the best creative, strategic and financial partners for the development, production and distribution of their projects. This edition, a curated selection of 17 new feature film projects presented themselves, alongside seven BoostNL projects as part of the five-month development programme in collaboration with the Holland Film Meeting (HFM), the professionals' programme of the Netherlands Film Festival. Four immersive projects completed the CineMart selection, chosen from those that took part in November 2020’s Immersive Funding Market (IFM), a collaboration between IFFR Pro and VRDays Europe. Overall, 951 one-on-one meetings took place and five projects received awards.

Training workshop for producers – Rotterdam Lab

74 participants from 40 different countries took part in this edition’s Rotterdam Lab, a training workshop for emerging producers from across the world to gain confidence and skills in international film financing, sales and distribution. Participants were selected from 44 different international partner organisations. The event was extended to 10 days to ensure those attending from different time zones could participate equally.

Learning, meeting and debate 

During the festival, the Pro Hub supports filmmakers and professionals to develop new connections and find allies in the film community, encouraging an open exchange of ideas and knowledge. A wide range of panels and workshops were offered online to filmmakers with work showing in the festival and accredited guests, and networking opportunities were arranged.

Reality Check, IFFR Pro’s platform for debating important industry topics, held two sessions in February on the topics of transgressive storytelling and inclusivity in funding.

Infographics IFFR Pro 2021

Professional development for African Producers – Creative Producer Indaba

Creative Producer Indaba is a year-long professional development programme designed to empower and inspire emerging African producers, as well as to foster collaboration between Europe, North America and Africa. The programme is an initiative of the Realness Institute in partnership with EAVE, the Sundance Institute and IFFR. The curriculum consists of three workshops, the second of which was hosted virtually during IFFR 2021. The final part will take place at the Atlas Workshop in Marrakech.