Managing Director Clare Stewart to step down after IFFR 2027

IFFR Managing Director Clare Stewart – who jointly leads the organisation with Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic – is stepping down from the post after her fourth edition in the role.

She will remain involved with IFFR, dedicating her focus to the continued development of the Displacement Film Fund, the short film grant initiative founded and led by Cate Blanchett. Through a framework Clare spearheaded at the inception of the fund, IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund acts as DFF’s Managing Partner.

IFFR’s Supervisory Board will begin recruiting for a new Managing Director immediately, with the intention of the successful candidate joining in time for a full handover with Stewart.

Stewart and Kaludjercic together steered the festival through the challenging post-pandemic era. Clare has been pivotal in strengthening the organisation’s financial position over the last three years and laying groundwork for continued progress towards a sustainable model. 

During Stewart’s tenure, the IFFR team has collectively secured a number of key funding commitments for the festival and its year-round work. This includes four-year subsidies from both the National (OCW) and municipal (Gemeente Rotterdam) governments which see the Festival supported up to and including the 2029 edition, and a successful bid from the Content team (led by Chief of Content Melissa van der Schoor) for increased three-year support from Creative Europe up to and including the 2028 edition. 

Clare has also focused on working with the core IFFR teams on rescaling the festival to fit resources, re-modelling venue usage with this work now led by Chief of Operations, Catherine Reijans. The remodelling, together with ticketing strategies, has resulted in a 20% increase in box office and public revenue over the last 3 festivals.  

At the same time, Kaludjercic’s revitalisation of the core festival programme and the introduction of year round initiatives like the Filmclub, combined with new audience development strategies (led by Chief of Audiences and Communities Marieke Sasse) – has resulted in lowering the average audience age. The most recent cycle IFFR welcomed 294.685 visits, and a 20% increase in audiences aged between 20 and 30, with half the festival audience now under 40. 

Supervisory Board Chair, Korrie Louwes said: “We are grateful to Clare for her commitment to IFFR. She has forged creative and commercial partnerships, secured hard-won funding, and worked with Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic to put the festival on a sustainable footing. We are delighted that she will continue her involvement in the Displacement Film Fund.”

Clare Stewart added: “It has been a privilege to share the custodianship of one of the world’s most essential film festivals with Vanja and to back her artistic and cultural vision for the future of IFFR, as well as to fully embrace the ‘tiger spirit’ shared by the hard-working IFFR team and the partners and supporters who are so invested in the success of the Festival. 

I am proud we have stabilised the business position of the organisation in a very challenging era for film festivals globally, and I truly believe that now is the right time to handover to a new Managing Director to bring fresh energy and perspective to the continuing work of securing a sustainable future for IFFR. Importantly, this timing will also mean my successor has a decent runway into the next Dutch subsidy cycle. 

It is also a deeply personal decision, to focus my efforts into building a secure base for the Displacement Film Fund alongside IFFR and its Hubert Bals Fund. Working with Cate Blanchett, Alison Tilbe and the DFF Partners, as well as IFFR’s team including Head of HBF Tamara Tatishvili, to create a fund with real purpose at a time when the crisis of forced displacement reflects the huge tumult of our world today, and supporting the work of these filmmakers feels completely vital.”

The Displacement Film Fund champions and funds the work of displaced filmmakers, or filmmakers with a proven track record in creating authentic storytelling on the experiences of displaced people.  The inaugural cohort’s film premiered at IFFR 2026 with works from Maryna Er Gorbach, Mo Harawe, Hasan Kattan, Mohammad Rasoulof and Shahrbanoo Sadat. Stewart will also continue on the nominations committee. The second cohort of filmmakers will world premiere their works in the upcoming 2027 edition of IFFR.

Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic said: “Clare has brought exceptional commitment, fearlessness and professionalism to IFFR, together with a formidable breadth of knowledge and experience. Leading IFFR alongside her through a particularly demanding period, I have greatly valued the resolve and judgement she brought to our work. One of Clare’s particular strengths is her ability to open up new possibilities for IFFR and pursue them with clarity and determination. This has been especially evident in the way she has helped develop and steward the Displacement Film Fund with such confidence and momentum. While her role at the festival is changing, our collaboration will continue through the DFF, and I look forward to remaining closely connected as we take its next phase forward.” 

Prior to joining IFFR, Clare has held a variety of key positions in global film institutions – including as Director of the BFI London Film Festival and BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, interim CEO of Sheffield DocFest, Festival Director of Sydney Film Festival; and as the inaugural Head of Film Programs at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

The vacancy for IFFR’s new Managing Director is now available via IFFR.com. Applicants are invited to apply before Sunday 18 October 2026, with the first of interviews taking place on Friday 23 October 2026.