Interviews

IFFR & vfonds 2022: the Freedomline

26 January 2022

Campaign IFFR 2022

Interviews

IFFR & vfonds 2022: the Freedomline

26 January 2022

“We realised that our common goals are much wider than only the events we physically organise during the festival and that's why we developed the Freedomline together.”

Vanja Kaludjercic © Andreas Terlaak

Jemma Land © Vera Bos

As of this year, vfonds, a main festival partner of IFFR since 2018, has become a Strategic Partner of the festival. Aimed at raising awareness on societal topics as freedom and democracy, vfonds and IFFR now work more closely to spread awareness of their shared values to a wide-ranging audience. Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic and Head of Partnerships & Communication at vfonds Jemma Land share their ideas on developing this collaboration and reflect on what brings the two organisations together. 

Vfonds has been a partner of IFFR since 2018. How has the collaboration between the two partners developed in the past years? 
Vanja Kaludjercic:
I think we can start by saying that vfonds and IFFR have shared values to begin with, like the importance of democratic values and freedom of expression. That alone has allowed us to open up so many possibilities in what our partnership can and should be about, and to find a way to strengthen what IFFR can do as a major cultural platform on a local, national and international level. We want to be a platform for underrepresented voices. This is at the heart of what IFFR does, not only through sharing works but also by supporting them. Whether it's through screenings, the Hubert Bals Fund, professional activities or contextual programmes, we’re raising awareness of what filmmakers are actually trying to share with us. 

Previously, IFFR and vfonds collaborated on the Freedom Lecture — something I was directly involved with, because my first steps at IFFR were by establishing the Talks and Masterclasses programme years ago. The various Freedom Lectures managed to bring a lot of attention and visibility to themes, topics and situations that aren’t sufficiently discussed on a big platform. They reminded us that some of the things that we take for granted are not accessible to all. We also collaborated on the Vredescollege, which sparked lively discussions about important topics with students of secondary education and MBO. Again, this has been a way to make young people aware of what they might be taking for granted: what freedom entails, what it actually means to have it. You might have freedom now, but it can be taken from you at any given point. I'm not going to make this too much about myself, but I lived through that: growing up in one country, then experiencing how everything disappears in a war that lasts almost six years, just to find another country on the other side. So, I'm fully aware of the importance of actively working on re-evaluating what freedom means and to bring attention to those who don't have it.

Jemma Land: Vfonds was established just after World War II, which is noticeable in that many of the projects that our fund has supported deal with topics surrounding the war. This is one of the reasons that IFFR is such an important partner for us: the festival manages to bring the topics that are close to our heart — like the importance of a peaceful society, democracy and state of law — into a contemporary setting. I think a film like Quo vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Žbanić, 2020), about the horrors of the former Yugoslavian War, is a great example of a film that carefully sheds a light on these themes. What I really appreciate about IFFR is how we’ve jointly grown in our role to address urgent topics from a variety of perspectives. This year our collaborative structure shifts from being a main sponsor to a strategic partner, something that we’re very excited about, because it allows us to go even more in-depth and to focus our work on finding a broad audience for our programmes and themes. 

Quo vadis, Aida? was a very powerful example of a film that manages to address urgent contemporary issues, while also confronting society with its collective memory that maybe too easily forgets the traumas of the past. In what ways do you think culture can serve as this kind of reminder or wake-up call?
Kaludjercic:
This is exactly what we’ve always wanted to do as a festival, so this question is really aimed at the roots of IFFR. There are many aspects to what culture can be, but one of its main roles is to have this agency to address topics that, perhaps, are too delicate to talk about. Quo vadis, Aida? is a perfect and powerful example of that, in the way it allows us to start a conversation about political events that are still generating tension. This film opened up the possibility and opportunity to talk, discuss, remember and heal. I believe this is the kind of film that can stay close to the festival for a long time. It can be used in schools as an educational tool to start difficult debates and raise awareness. 

Land: For vfonds it is important to look at things from multiple perspectives. That is why we organised a Big Talk together, in which there was room for dialogue from different angles. We are pleased that the conversation around sensitive topics such as this can be held during IFFR.

The past years have been challenging for the cultural landscape at large. This year, IFFR is presenting its line-up online again, including the Freedomline, which is a new collaboration between vfonds and IFFR. What approach did you have to the Freedomline? 
Kaludjercic:
From working together on the Vredescollege to the Big Talk based around Quo vadis, Aida? and the events of Srebrenica, I think we realised that our common goals are much wider than only the events we physically organise during the festival. So, both of us wanted to start thinking about our collaboration in a much more open way. We realised that there are so many films that we can highlight and share with our audience. This is essentially what we want to do with the Freedomline, to have this wide-ranging programme that can go from films, to talks, to VR or to any other media and addresses different audiences with the objectives that are shared between both of us.

Land: In the past years, IFFR has shown that they can curate programmes with us that perfectly embody the values of vfonds. We hope that, by creating a thread that runs through the festival selection, we can make these topics more accessible for a wider audience. 

Kaludjercic: I think it really allows us to also highlight a rich variety of films. These themes can appear in so many different films, shapes and forms and. I think this is fantastic, that through Freedomline, we can bring awareness and visibility to so many more films, filmmakers and artists that we want to talk about.

Land: And it only makes us more excited about developing our partnership and expanding on the Freedomline selection. This year is indeed a hard one for the cultural sector, but we’re very proud to present four films and a Big Talk with director Rachel Lang. Meanwhile, we’re also envisioning that we’ll add more films to Freedomline in the coming years. 

From Rachel Lang’s Mon Légionnaire, to Tatiana Huezo Sánchez’ Prayers for the Stolen (Noche De Fuego) and Freda by Géssica Généus, the Freedomline programme offers a terrific scope on contemporary world cinema, notably all seen through the lens of female filmmakers. Could you talk about this selection and its importance? 
Kaludjercic
: What I love about this selection is that through very straightforward representation it shows what the limitations of certain freedoms can look like. Whether it’s the first-hand experience of being in a war, which is the case of Rachel Lang’s Mon Légionnaire, or traumatic events happenings from the point of view of a child, which is what Tatiana Huezo Sánchez’ Noche de Fuego shows, you are a witness to the consequences of limitations of freedom. It might not be something that you directly identify in Freda, but here you can see how people are grappling with the increasingly worsening reality of their daily lives and have to make very difficult decisions based around it. What I really like about all these films is how they're managing to address topics that we’re very much concerned about from very different points of views. 

Land: And to add to what Vanja is saying, these four films have totally different looks and feels. They do share perspectives on the prospects of a peaceful society, but do that with a wide range of sensibilities. 

Looking ahead a bit to the strategic partnership after this festival edition, can you already philosophise or indicate where this collaboration might be headed to? 

Kaludjercic: IFFR is a year-round organisation that has its specific peak every year with the festival, but, of course, there are a number of activities, like educational programmes, that we continue to organise throughout the year. Meanwhile, the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), a permanent organisation established by IFFR, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and the European Film Academy (EFA), aimed at supporting filmmakers facing political persecution for their work, is never sleeping, so to speak. We also continually strive to support filmmakers all over the world through professional activities and the Hubert Bals Fund. So, the work actually never stops. 

Land: The fact that IFFR brings such important films to a Dutch and international audience makes it possible to also look at the possibilities outside of the festival window. So, looking at future possibilities, I think it would be great to keep expanding on the Freedomline, and perhaps also organise more talks and contextual programmes around the selected films, so we can keep engaging in thorough and important discussions with Dutch society. 

The full selection of the Freedomline can be found here

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