IFFR and de Volkskrant
21 January 2022
One of the most enduring partnerships of IFFR is that between the festival and the Volkskrant newspaper. The idea was formed in the autumn of 1981, when IFFR founder and director Hubert Bals approached the influential Volkskrant film journalist, Peter van Bueren.
They made an agreement that from January 1982, there would be a supplement dedicated to the film programme of IFFR, with editorials from festival staff and the full schedule of the screenings. Van Bueren continued to write articles about new directors and unknown film cultures, which hugely contributed to the growing appreciation of IFFR and the understanding of independent and innovative films in the Netherlands.
Even after the sudden death of Bals in 1988, the relationship between the Volkskrant and IFFR continued. De IFFR Volkskrantdag, a day of screenings exclusively for readers of the Volkskrant, has been held on the last Sunday of the festival since 1987. It’s now become one of the most popular and well-recognised events of IFFR, with tickets selling out fast every edition.
In 2002, as his career as a film journalist for the Volkskrant came to an end, van Bueren was presented with the Tiger Lifetime Achievement Award at IFFR. He remained close to the festival as a mentor and advisor, and participated in the festival for the last time in 2016 as a member of the Tiger Award jury. He passed away in March 2020. Pieter Broertjes, Volkskrant Editor-in-Chief from 1995 to 2010, has been the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of IFFR since 2012.
The pillar of the collaboration is of course the IFFR supplement, which appears in de Volkskrant, and of course de IFFR Volkskrantdag; the regular spot on the last Sunday of IFFR. On this day we offer a cross-section of the best that IFFR has to offer. Thousands of visitors travel to Rotterdam to attend a carefully curated programme, put together by programmers from IFFR and the film editors of de Volkskrant.
