Pro Darkroom 2024
12 December 2023
Making a welcome return for its second edition is the Darkroom programme of work-in-progress screenings of former CineMart and HBF-supported projects, taking place on Tuesday 30 January 2024. Selected teams will receive expert consultancy and have the chance to present their work to an exclusive panel of international sales agents, festival programmers and buyers. The selection includes four feature projects and two immersive projects.
In Diamonds in the Sand, directed by Janus Victoria, an ageing salaryman leaves the comforts of Tokyo and goes to unpredictable Manila to escape kodokushi, the lonely death. Mongrel is directed by Taiwan-based Singaporean filmmaker Wei Liang. In the mountains of Taiwan, Oom, an undocumented migrant, struggles to preserve his humanity as he cares for the elderly and disabled.
The Idyll is directed by Aaron Rookus, whose Goodbye Stranger world-premiered in IFFR Limelight in 2023. In this life affirming mosaic drama we follow six different people, searching for the same near impossible thing, the perfect fulfilment of life. La vie devant nous, directed by Olivier Meys, tells the story of Jahia, a 16-year-old girl from Burkina Faso who lives in a centre for asylum seekers in Belgium. Without perspective, Jahia has a fear of the future that isolates her and prevents her from living. One day, she meets Mila, a young Belarusian girl, who drags her along in her wild energy.
Darkroom Immersive
In a neighbourhood of the town of Ubud in Bali, part of the culture has disappeared. Alternates by Jonathan Hagard is a musical uchronia that explores the consequences of that disappearance.
Duchampiana by Lilian Hess is an artistic VR experience focused on body politics. Taking Duchamp’s notorious Nude Descending a Staircase as its point of departure, this immersive installation invites viewers to engage in a physical transgression of social constructs. The protagonist's journey up an infinite staircase turns into a poetic exploration of what it means to claim one's place in the world.
Darkroom 2024 complete selection
Alternates, dir. Jonathan Hagard, France, Japan
Produced by: Floréal
Diamonds in the Sand, dir. Janus Victoria, Japan, Philippines
Produced by: Paperheart
Duchampiana, dir. Lilian Hess, France, Germany
Produced by: Tchikiboum
The Idyll, dir. Aaron Rookus, Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia
Produced by: Studio Ruba
Mongrel, dir. Wei Liang Chiang, France, Taiwan, Singapore
Produced by: E&W Films
La vie devant nous, dir. Olivier Meys, Belgium, France, Luxembourg
Produced by: Michigan Films
CineMart 2024
Darkroom takes place during IFFR's co-production market CineMart. The session is hosted on Tuesday 30 January, prior to the IFFR Pro Awards in the evening. CineMart runs from Sunday 28 to Wednesday 31 January.
Darkroom
Work-in-progress screenings of CineMart and HBF-backed projects
