Among the selected filmmakers, only Nathalie Teirlinck has previously presented a project at CineMart; her film Past Imperfect was at CineMart 2015 under the working title Tonic Immobility. Filmmakers Muayad Alayan and Yeo Siew Hua were previously supported through IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund and now both make their CineMart debuts. Alayan’s HBF-supported film The Reports on Sarah and Saleem won the HBF Audience Award at IFFR 2018 and Yeo Siew Hua’s HBF-supported film A Land Imagined will screen at IFFR 2019.

Other familiar names include Olga Chajdas, who won the VPRO Big Screen Award for her film Nina in 2018, and Nicolas Steiner, whose film Above and Below was selected for IFFR 2015’s Tiger Competition. Further selected filmmakers who have screened films at IFFR include Julian Radlmaier (Ein proletarisches Wintermärchen, IFFR 2014; Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes, 2017), Mateo Bendesky (Nosotros solos, IFFR 2017), Avishai Sivan (The Wanderer, IFFR 2011; Tikkun, IFFR 2016) and André Novais Oliveira (She Comes Back on Thursday, IFFR 2015). Novais Oliveira will also screen his new film Temporada at IFFR 2019 as part of the theme programme Soul in the Eye.

Marit van den Elshout, head of IFFR Pro: “We are happy to announce a promising line-up of projects in the making. In 2018 we streamlined CineMart and brought the number of selections down in order to ensure they get the most out of their visit to Rotterdam. This was well received by both the filmmakers and the professional CineMart audiences. As in 2018, selected projects will be assigned a personal mentor who will support preparations a month in advance.”

Selected CineMart titles qualify for four awards:

• the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000 for a European co-production;

• the ARTE Kino International Prize of €6,000 for an international co-production;

• the Wouter Barendrecht Award of €5,000 for a project by a director under 35 years of age;

• and the Filmmore Postproduction Award of €7,500 to be used for colour grading and visual effects.

In a continued collaboration with VR Days Europe, IFFR Pro also invites four VR projects to pitch at the IFFR Pro x VR Days event on Tuesday 29 January. These projects are listed below and are not eligible for the CineMart awards. CineMart delegates can request meetings with the creators during CineMart.

The eight projects selected for the BoostNL programme, a collaborative effort of IFFR and NFF, will also be present at CineMart to find creative and financial partners through scheduled meetings with CineMart delegates. Read more about the BoostNL selection here.

IFFR Pro Days will take place from Saturday 26 to Wednesday 30 January and 36th CineMart will take place from Sunday 27 to Wednesday 30 January 2019. For an overview of all the important dates of IFFR Pro Days, click here.

Full list of the 2019 CineMart selection

• And My Eyes Keep Smiling, André Novais Oliveira, Filmes de Plástico (Brazil)

• Blutsauger, Julian Radlmaier, faktura film UG (Germany)

• Crossing, Jacqueline van Vugt, Revolver Amsterdam (the Netherlands)

• Elephants, Nathalie Teirlinck, Savage Film (Belgium)

• La fiebre, Mateo Bendesky, Volpe Films (Argentina)

• The Flying Mountain, Nicolas Steiner, maximage (Switzerland)

• The Girlfriend, Jane Magnusson, Brain Academy (Sweden)

• Hank, David Jacobson, Picture Palace Pictures (USA)

• A House in Jerusalem, Muayad Alayan, PalCine Productions (Palestine)

• Lot’s Wife, Avishai Sivan, Plan B Productions (Israel)

• The Panopticon, Jim Loach, Rosetta Productions (United Kingdom)

• Peaches, Jenny Suen, Salty Pictures/White Sea Pictures/Nanyang Brothers Films/Rapid Eye Movies (China/Hong Kong/Malaysia/Germany)

• The Perilous Odyssey to Mount Gulsuk, Jordan Dela Cruz, VY/AC Productions & Cinematografica Films (Philippines)

• Stillborn, Olga Chajdas, Apple Film Production (Poland)

• Stranger Eyes, Yeo Siew Hua, Akanga Film Asia (Singapore)

• Titanic Ocean, Konstantina Kotzamani, Homemade Films (Greece)

VR projects presented at IFFR Pro x VR Days 2019

• Albrecht's Gift, Rein Zobel, Maru VR (Estonia)

• Bolivia profunda, José Celestino Campusano, Cinebruto (Argentina)

• Cosmos Within Us, Tupac Martir, Satore Studio/Tech (UK)

• Wallada, Nathalie Mathe, NativeVR (USA)