{"id":211396,"date":"2024-11-28T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T11:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/?p=211396"},"modified":"2025-10-16T12:46:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T10:46:41","slug":"international-film-festival-rotterdam-unveils-new-shorts-focuses-and-short-mid-length-selections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/international-film-festival-rotterdam-unveils-new-shorts-focuses-and-short-mid-length-selections","title":{"rendered":"International Film Festival Rotterdam unveils new shorts focuses and Short & Mid-length selections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Artist-Filmmakers Matthew Lax and Timoteus Anggawan Kusno to be Spotlighted. <\/a>Key Dates Confirmed across Media Outreach and Inclusion Scheme, Accreditations, Ticket Sales and Press Conference.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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Rotterdam \u2013 28 November 2024 \u2013<\/strong> International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled further additions to its line-up for the upcoming 54th<\/strong> edition of the festival, taking place from 30 January \u2013 9 February 2025, including new shorts Focus <\/strong>programmes centered on the US-based artist, writer and filmmaker Matthew Lax<\/strong> and the Indonesian and Amsterdam-based visual artist and researcher Timoteus Anggawan Kusno<\/strong>, alongside the first selections for its Short & Mid-Length<\/strong> strand. Additionally, IFFR has confirmed key dates across its Media Outreach and Inclusion Scheme, accreditations, ticket sales, and for the festival\u2019s press conference.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Lax\u2019s<\/strong> distinct dialectical approach queers interpretations of varied subjects, including archival texts, animal behaviour and power dynamics through performance and documentary. Working with actors and non-actors, Lax\u2019s films prioritise critical discourse and community building which further question meaning and interpretation. Under the Focus programme, two of Lax\u2019s works will have their world premieres: A Tired Dog Is a Good Dog<\/em>, Part Two<\/em> andGay Men\u2019s Book Club<\/em>. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timoteus Anggawan Kusno <\/strong>works with archival material, installations, performance and institutional interventions. He has been blending the boundaries between fiction, memory and history. By questioning the making of historical narratives and exploring the shadows left behind by coloniality, his work exposes narratives that have been left unseen or unheard. The programme will include the world premieres of Fever Dream<\/em> and Unreleased<\/em>, and will contain, among other works, his recent film Tunggang Langgang<\/em>. The focus programme marks Kusno\u2019s return to IFFR, following the screening of his work Dear Shadow, My Old Friend <\/em>in 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Short & Mid-Length programme, the festival is welcoming back several returning filmmakers including Lipika Singh Darai<\/strong> with a world premiere of B and S, an exploration of the friendship between two trans women, following both the screening of her short film Night and Fear<\/em> at IFFR and the Hubert Bals Fund support received for her feature Birdwoman in 2023. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Nuno Boaventura Miranda<\/strong> presented the HBF-backed Km\u00eadeus<\/em> at the festival in 2020, and now presents The Last Harvest, <\/em>following three characters navigating life in Lisbon’s Cape Verdean community. Brazilian filmmaker Pethrus Tib\u00farcio<\/strong>, co-director of HBF-supported CineMart 2021 project Marina, presents their debut short Tell Her What Happened to Me. <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IFFR regular US-director Andrew Norman Wilson <\/strong>returns with Silvesterchlausen<\/em>, on a mysterious tradition of the same name that takes place every New Year\u2019s Eve in Switzerland\u2019s Appenzell. Stefan Ivan\u010di\u0107,<\/strong> producer of HBF-backed feature The Load (IFFR 2019) and director of Soles de primavera <\/em>(IFFR 2014), presents the world premiere of Upon Sunrise, a piercing portrait of a single mother in Serbia. Alongside this, Helena Wittmann <\/strong>returns with the world premiere of A Thousand Waves Away <\/em>following the screening of her feature Drift in 2018, and Rajee Samarasinghe <\/strong>will world premiere You\u2019re a Shadow<\/em>, a portrait of an exorcist in Sri Lanka, alongside his feature in the \u2018Bright Future\u2019 programme, Your Touch Makes Others Invisible.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigerian-British artist and filmmaker Jenn Nkiru<\/strong> returns to IFFR following Rebirth Is Necessary <\/em>(IFFR 2018) and Black to Techno <\/em>(IFFR 2020). She is also part of The Ummah Chroma collective, whose work was shown in Art Directions in 2020. At IFFR 2025, Nkiru presents the international premiere of The Great North<\/em>, a meditative film about Manchester, UK. Also hailing from Manchester is filmmaker Hope Strickland<\/strong>, who presents the world premiere of a river holds a perfect memory<\/em>, tracing the interrelation of water, memory and labour between the UK and Jamaica. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Brother, My Brother <\/em>will have its world premiere: an autofiction animation by Berlin-based Egyptian filmmaker Abdelrahman Dnewar <\/strong>and his late brother Saad Dnewar<\/strong>. While Ulu Braun<\/strong> (Maria Theresia und ihre 16 Kinder, <\/em>IFFR 2011) presents the world premiere of Gerhard, an AI-produced biopic on the artist Gerhard Richter. New York writer and filmmaker Eliza Barry Callahan<\/strong>, whose debut novel The Hearing Test<\/em> was published earlier this year by Catapult (US) and Peninsula (UK), presents the world premiere of The Non-Actor<\/strong><\/em>, featuring Victoria Pedretti, and Maya Hawke.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR<\/strong>, said: \u201cOur 2025 programme showcases diverse perspectives, ideas, and storytelling across multiple formats from around the globe. IFFR is dedicated to celebrating and sharing unexpected works that challenge conventions – and nowhere is this more evident than our in captivating short and mid-length stories and spotlights on Matthew Lax, whose hybrid practice explores group behaviors and power through queerly theatrical works that are both public and personal, and Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, whose films and installations confront the lingering shadows of colonialism and dictatorship, blurring the lines between history and imagination with a critical, ethnographic approach.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SHORT AND MID-LENGTH <\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B AND S<\/strong> (World Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director:  Lipika Singh Darai<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

India <\/em><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GERHARD <\/strong>(World Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Ulu Braun<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE GREAT NORTH<\/strong> (International Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Jenn Nkiru<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

United Kingdom <\/em><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE LAST HARVEST <\/strong>(World Premiere)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Nuno Boaventura Miranda<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cabo Verde, Portugal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MY BROTHER, MY BROTHER<\/strong> (World Premiere)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directors: Saad Dnewar and Abdelrahman Dnewar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egypt, Germany, France<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE NON-ACTOR <\/strong>(World Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directors: Eliza Barry Callahan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A RIVER HOLDS A PERFECT MEMORY<\/strong> (World Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Hope Strickland<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

United Kingdom, Jamaica <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SILVESTERCHLAUSEN<\/strong> (International Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Andrew Norman Wilson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States, Switzerland <\/em><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TELL HER WHAT HAPPENED TO ME<\/strong> (World Premiere)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Pethrus Tib\u00farcio<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brazil<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A THOUSAND WAVES AWAY <\/strong>(World Premiere)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Helena Wittmann<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany <\/em><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPON SUNRISE <\/strong>(World Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Stefan Ivan\u010di\u0107<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOU\u2019RE A SHADOW<\/strong> (World Premiere) <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director: Rajee Samarasinghe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka, United States <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally,<\/em> the festival has confirmed key dates across its Media Outreach and Inclusion Scheme, accreditations, ticket sales, and the festival\u2019s press conference and event: <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Now Open:<\/strong> Requests for Accreditation for Industry Professionals, Journalists and Students.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Thursday 28 November: <\/strong>Ticket Sales Begin for IFFR VPRO Days <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Wednesday 4 December:<\/strong> Ticket Sales Begin for IFFR Volkskrantdag<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Sunday 8 December:<\/strong> Media Outreach & Inclusion Scheme Application Deadline<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By welcoming new and diverse voices to report on the festival, the scheme aims to remove barriers to journalists and media makers from communities that are currently underrepresented in the festival\u2019s press community. <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applications<\/em> here<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Tuesday 17 December:<\/strong> Press Conference <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IFFR\u2019s 2025 press conference will take place online at 11.00 CET.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Wednesday 18 December:<\/strong> Ticket Sales Begin for Festival Specials, including Opening Night <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Wednesday 15 January 2025:<\/strong> Ticket Sales Begin for Press, Pro, Visionairs, Pioneers and Tiger Members <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Thursday 16 January 2025:<\/strong> General Ticket Sale Begins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact:<\/strong>IFFR@ddaglobal.com<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About IFFR <\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

International Film Festival Rotterdam\u2019s (IFFR) upcoming 54th edition of the festival will take place from 30 January \u2013 9 February 2025, with the full programme being launched on 17th December 2024. IFFR presents a leading international film festival and year-round programme and actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through its co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Lab and other industry activities.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IFFR seeks to expand, enrich and challenge people\u2019s views of the world and each other through film and audiovisual arts. IFFR\u2019s programme deepens appreciation of cinema in all its forms, broadens and diversifies audiences, and creates opportunities for independent filmmakers and artists from around the globe.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through IFFR\u2019s visionary programming and forward-looking  initiatives, we create a haven for the plurality of voices, audiovisual formats and diverse storytelling. We are an essential destination for film professionals and film lovers. We support filmmakers and artists with funding and development opportunities and advance the impact of their work in the world. We are accessible to everyone. Through screenings, talks, exhibitions, education, professional initiatives and funding schemes we bring people from all backgrounds together, enabling discovery, recognition dialogue, learning and development. We look where others don\u2019t and we open a space for ideas, pushing creative boundaries that have the power to transform.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IFFR is supported by partners including Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (OCW), Gemeente Rotterdam, Creative Europe Media, NL Film Fonds, Fonds 21, de Volkskrant and VriendenLoterij. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details on accreditation for IFFR 2025 can be found here<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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