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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

Blog

Overview of articles

  • “Above all, Bazaar is a love story”: Rémi Bezançon on the IFFR 2026 closing film

    The comedy thriller Bazaar (Murder in the Building) will bring IFFR 2026 to a close with a celebration of cinema as mystery and as a playful shared experience.

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    • Blog
    • Interview

  • Tips from IFFR ambassador Sethi Djegane Gueye

    As a Dutch-Senegalese photographer and filmmaker, it is important to me that stories from and about Sub-Saharan Africa are seen and heard. Cinema is a powerful medium to present perspectives that often remain underexposed, and IFFR is the perfect place to discover such voices.

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    • Ambassadors
    • Blog

  • Tips from IFFR ambassador Zeynep Serdaroğlu

    2m² Volkan Üce | Belgium, Germany, Turkey | 2026 | 83′Got the chance to pre-screen this at the IFFR office last week and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Following a funeral director for the Belgian-Turkish community, the film circles one simple but loaded question: where should someone be buried if their life is in […]

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    • Ambassadors
    • Blog

  • “The inquiring nature of my films fits Rotterdam well”: filmmaker David Verbeek on his special relationship with IFFR

    We talked to Verbeek about his relationship with the festival, which has been a recurring theme throughout his career. 

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    • Blog
    • Interview

  • Tips from Cineville

    Here at Cineville we’re always on the lookout for new voices, the bold and the beautiful. So what better way to start the first Cineville Day on Tuesday with the Bare Witness programme in KINO, consisting of three short & mid-length films bearing witness as an act of resistance. Other great options for KINO are the Dutch premiere of […]

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    • Blog
    • Tips

  • Tips from IFFR ambassador Allula Karin

    I’m originally from Indonesia, a country of a thousand islands. As an IFFR ambassador this year, I’m proud to share that the festival will be screening several titles by Indonesian creatives. And with my background in performing arts, I have a soft spot for musical films.

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    • Ambassadors
    • Blog

  • Tips From We are Public

    By Inez de Coo, Film curator at We are Public. For We Are Public I’m always on the lookout for remarkable films that challenge how we thinkabout art, culture, the people we meet and the people we could become. Of course, IFFR provides an embarrassment of riches, but I’m particularly proud of our selection this […]

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    • Blog
    • Tips

  • The Wellspring of Japan’s V-Cinema

    In this year’s Focus programme on V-Cinema, IFFR explores Japan’s direct-to-video phenomenon that emerged in the late 1980s and left a lasting mark in contemporary film culture. Programme curator Tom Mes traces the background of the production model and puts the selected film into context.

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    • Background
    • Blog

  • Reflections on Colonial Pasts and Possible Futures

    The IFFR 2026 Focus programme on Collectif Faire-Part celebrates the work of the ensemble of Belgian and Congolese artists. IFFR programmers Lyse Nsengiyumva and Koen de Rooij take an in-depth look at their work and practice.

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    • Blog

  • Tetsuya Maruyama: Expansion/Contraction

    With Focus: Tetsuya Maruyama, IFFR 2026 spotlights the work of the Rio de Janeiro-based Japanese multidisciplinary artist. IFFR programmer Cristina Kolozsváry-Kiss takes an in-depth look at Maruyama’s background and approach to cinema.

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    • Blog
    • Stories