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54st International Film Festival Rotterdam 30 January – 9 February 2025
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Researcher and filmmaker Sharine Rijsenburg will receive €20,000 towards the production of her Afrofuturistic project Bubbling Baby.
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With IFFR 2025 confirmed to take place from Thursday 30 January to Sunday 9 February 2025, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) announces the winner of its latest RTM Pitch. Bubbling, a cultural movement fusing dance, rhythm and electronic music born out of Rotterdam’s Afro-Caribbean community in the 1990s, is the focus of a documentary project awarded a grant of €20,000 by International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) together with the municipality of Rotterdam.
Researcher and filmmaker Sharine Rijsenburg will explore Bubbling culture as having both a deep imprint on the city’s identity whilst being simultaneously undervalued. As the winner of the RTM Pitch, the project will receive expert guidance and aims to premiere at IFFR 2025.
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Sharine Rijsenburg: “I started as a Young Selector at IFFR in 2019, and it feels like a dream to make my own film for the RTM programme now, five years later. For me, Bubbling Baby is a film about how we in Rotterdam, as a multicultural metropolis, celebrate, remember and appreciate our night culture. The Bubbling subculture shows a history that has helped shape Rotterdam’s identity, yet has remained invisible. With this fil
Composer Will Bates has composed original scores for a myriad of filmmakers including acclaimed directors Mike Cahill (Another Earth; I Origins; Bliss), Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks; Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief; Zero Days; The Forever Prisoner), Ry Russo-Young (You Won’t Miss Me; Nobody Walks) and Fisher Stevens (Mission Blue; Bright Lights).
Bates’ upcoming projects include Dark Sky Films’ Blackout, directed by Larry Fessenden and starring Marshall Bell, which hits theaters (limited run) on March 13th. Notable credits include Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money; FX’s Class of ’09; AMC+’s Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches; Dean Craig’s comedy film The Estate; Michael Mohan’s thriller The Voyeurs; Michael Tyburski’s drama film The Sound of Silence; Starz's Sweetbitter; and the drama/sci-fi series Away; Netflix’s Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated mini-series Unbelievable; and the thriller limited series Devil in Ohio; SyFy’s hit series The Magicians; the George R.R. Martin produced series Nightflyers; Hulu’s series The Path; Chance; and The Looming Tower; NBC’s Rise; and more. Bates’ recent score for Michael Mohan’s Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, premiered at SXSW on Tuesday, March 12th and hit theaters on March 22nd.
In an interview with Will Bates after the festival, here is what he had to say:
Can you tell us about your music background and what led you to film scoring?
WILL: I’ve always wanted to be a film composer. I think I was about 6 or 7 when I sang the entire score of Star Wars to my parents one morning. And once I realized that one man was responsible for all the tunes I’d been humming in my head, I decided I wanted to be John Williams when I grew up. I started playing the saxophone and at about 12 or 13 I got very into jazz. I had a rethink and thought maybe I’d like to be Cannonball Adderley instead. With my buddy Quentin Collins, I started playing in jazz clubs and bars around London from the age of about 14, masquerading as an 18-year-old, wearing my dad’s oversized suits. Then I discovered electronic music and released some obscure dance music on tiny London labels. I later moved to New York and became the lead singer of an Indie Rock band called The Rinse. We toured the US, opened for some big bands, and had a record released in Japan. But generally, we somehow dodged success like skilled ninjas. But all through that time, my lingering first love of scoring remained. The only way I ever learnt to support myself was by scoring commercials, first in London, and fi
[Pictured: A still from Sujo]
By Stephanie Ornelas
“There are so many stories and layers to be told within Ciudad de México,” Paloma Riojas says over Zoom. The screenwriter/producer has a special place in her heart for Mexico City. Having lived and worked there, she knows that the city’s film scene is hungry and ready for more. Later this month, the first edition of Sundance Film Festival CDMX will take place, in partnership with Cinépolis, ready to expand the global community of independent filmmakers and film lovers.
A diverse and vibrant city, CDMX has been the hub of Mexican independent storytelling for decades and, in the runup to the Festival, we’re highlighting Institute-supported stories centered on Mexico City.
“Mexico City is such a rich environment to share stories and to have things written because it is like Los Angeles,” explains Riojas. “It has the gamut of perspectives and experiences that showcase the broad spectrum of how many different lives are being lived all at the same time in that rich and highly populated place.”
Riojas’ short film Nana, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival as part of the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge, is one of seven projects written by women that we’re spotlighting today.
Something that’s often discussed is how Latine women filmmakers are still grappling with gender inequity and sourcing funding for their projects. Women storytellers are working tirelessly to change that, and the needle is definitely moving. Last year, for the first time ever, women dominated the nominations for Best Director at the Ariel Awards (Mexican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). And just this past January at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, writer-directors Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic for their film Sujo.
“[Stories written by women] can be universal, but they’re also wholly unique. It’s very important, and needed, to highlight stories written by women and to open up spaces for that to happen,” adds Riojas.
Before we journey to Mexico City on April 25 to showcase 12 features and 10 Mexican shorts at Cinépolis Diana and Cinépolis VIP Miyana, explore the following Sundance-supported films based in Mexico City that were written by women.
Red Dawn (Rojo Amanecer) — 1991 Sundance Film Festival
Jorge Fons’ drama, which was co-written by Guadalupe Ortega and Xavier Robles, addresses the massacre of more than 400 students by the Mexican army at Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Mexico City in 1968. Following a middle-class family who live in the Tlatelolco Housing complex that overlooks the plaza, the film explores the atrocities committed by military forces. Red Dawn (Rojo Amanecer) screened in the “Images of Mexico and Latin America” section at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival.
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Composer Will Bates has composed original scores for a myriad of filmmakers including acclaimed directors Mike Cahill (Another Earth; I Origins; Bliss), Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks; Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief; Zero Days; The Forever Prisoner), Ry Russo-Young (You Won’t Miss Me; Nobody Walks) and Fisher Stevens (Mission Blue; Bright Lights).
Bates’ upcoming projects include Dark Sky Films’ Blackout, directed by Larry Fessenden and starring Marshall Bell, which hits theaters (limited run) on March 13th. Notable credits include Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money; FX’s Class of ’09; AMC+’s Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches; Dean Craig’s comedy film The Estate; Michael Mohan’s thriller The Voyeurs; Michael Tyburski’s drama film The Sound of Silence; Starz's Sweetbitter; and the drama/sci-fi series Away; Netflix’s Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated mini-series Unbelievable; and the thriller limited series Devil in Ohio; SyFy’s hit series The Magicians; the George R.R. Martin produced series Nightflyers; Hulu’s series The Path; Chance; and The Looming Tower; NBC’s Rise; and more. Bates’ recent score for Michael Mohan’s Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, premiered at SXSW on Tuesday, March 12th and hit theaters on March 22nd.
In an interview with Will Bates after the festival, here is what he had to say:
Can you tell us about your music background and what led you to film scoring?
WILL: I’ve always wanted to be a film composer. I think I was about 6 or 7 when I sang the entire score of Star Wars to my parents one morning. And once I realized that one man was responsible for all the tunes I’d been humming in my head, I decided I wanted to be John Williams when I grew up. I started playing the saxophone and at about 12 or 13 I got very into jazz. I had a rethink and thought maybe I’d like to be Cannonball Adderley instead. With my buddy Quentin Collins, I started playing in jazz clubs and bars around London from the age of about 14, masquerading as an 18-year-old, wearing my dad’s oversized suits. Then I discovered electronic music and released some obscure dance music on tiny London labels. I later moved to New York and became the lead singer of an Indie Rock band called The Rinse. We toured the US, opened for some big bands, and had a record released in Japan. But generally, we somehow dodged success like skilled ninjas. But all through that time, my lingering first love of scoring remained. The only way I ever learnt to support myself was by scoring commercials, first in London, and finally landing m
Composer Will Bates has composed original scores for a myriad of filmmakers including acclaimed directors Mike Cahill (Another Earth; I Origins; Bliss), Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks; Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief; Zero Days; The Forever Prisoner), Ry Russo-Young (You Won’t Miss Me; Nobody Walks) and Fisher Stevens (Mission Blue; Bright Lights).
Bates’ upcoming projects include Dark Sky Films’ Blackout, directed by Larry Fessenden and starring Marshall Bell, which hits theaters (limited run) on March 13th. Notable credits include Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money; FX’s Class of ’09; AMC+’s Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches; Dean Craig’s comedy film The Estate; Michael Mohan’s thriller The Voyeurs; Michael Tyburski’s drama film The Sound of Silence; Starz's Sweetbitter; and the drama/sci-fi series Away; Netflix’s Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated mini-series Unbelievable; and the thriller limited series Devil in Ohio; SyFy’s hit series The Magicians; the George R.R. Martin produced series Nightflyers; Hulu’s series The Path; Chance; and The Looming Tower; NBC’s Rise; and more. Bates’ recent score for Michael Mohan’s Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, premiered at SXSW on Tuesday, March 12th and hit theaters on March 22nd.
In an interview with Will Bates after the festival, here is what he had to say:
Can you tell us about your music background and what led you to film scoring?
WILL: I’ve always wanted to be a film composer. I think I was about 6 or 7 when I sang the entire score of Star Wars to my parents one morning. And once I realized that one man was responsible for all the tunes I’d been humming in my head, I decided I wanted to be John Williams when I grew up. I started playing the saxophone and at about 12 or 13 I got very into jazz. I had a rethink and thought maybe I’d like to be Cannonball Adderley instead. With my buddy Quentin Collins, I started playing in jazz clubs and bars around London from the age of about 14, masquerading as an 18-year-old, wearing my dad’s oversized suits. Then I discovered electronic music and released some obscure dance music on tiny London labels. I later moved to New York and became the lead singer of an Indie Rock band called The Rinse. We toured the US, opened for some big bands, and had a record released in Japan. But generally, we somehow dodged success like skilled ninjas. But all through that time, my lingering first love of scoring remained. The only way I ever learnt to support myself was by scoring commercials, first in London, and finally landing m
Now in its 23rd year at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, MoMA’s Doc Fortnight ran from February 22 through March 7 and presented recent documentary features and short films from new and established artists. As in past editions, Doc Fortnight focused on innovative, experimental, and adventurous filmmaking approaches. The 2024 program included 13 features, six short films, three special seminars on Caribbean productions, landscape films, and a spotlight on Gelare Khoshgozaran, an interdisciplinary Iranian artist working with images of imperial violence now living in Los Angeles. Except for three world premieres, all of the features had been screened before at international film festivals with numerous global award winning films and debuts. Four films were New York premieres, and nine North American premieres. Doc Fortnight provides a unique opportunity to see films which would likely not be accessible otherwise. The productions selected mirrored a broad spectrum of themes that included, among others, the use of cinema production for community building in Guinea-Bissau “Resonance Spiral” 2024 Portugal/ Guinea-Bissau, Germany; observational witness accounts of the Taliban’s rise to power in “Hollywoodgate” 2023, Germany/USA; environmental issues as reflected in the flood of electronic waste in “The New Ruins” 2024, Argentine; interactions between a volcano’s activities and those living under them on “Monism”, 2023 Indonesia/Qatar; a docufictional presentation of the legal absurdities of the emerging city state of Singapore through the fate of one female victim in “Small Hours of the Night”, 2024, Singapore; and Chinese youth locked between despair and hope in “Republic”, 2023, Singapore/China. As suggested by Fortnight’s associate curator Sophie Cavoulacos, “In a moment of continued geopolitical crises, the filmmakers shine a light on individuals confronting systems of power, all the while pushing the field in aesthetically daring new directions”, as evidenced by the documentaries “Silence of Reason”, Bosnia, 2023 and “ Black Box Diaries”, France 2024 which are discussed below. The large number of six co-productions selected reflects an international trend. Among sole producing countries were the USA with 3 films and with one production each China, France, Singapore, Indonesia, Argentine and Bosnia. The UK, Quatar, Germany, Portugal, Guinea-Bissau, Belgium, Netherlands, and Finland were partners in co-productions.
SILENCE OF REASON by Kumjana Novakova, produced in 2023, is an extraordinary documentary about mass rapes and ethnic cleansing committed by the Serbian military in and around Foca after they occupied that area, inhabited by a majority of Muslims. Of the 22,500 Muslim residents, only ten were left there at the end of the two-year Bosnian war conflict which lasted from April 1992 to January 1992. The other inhabitants fled, disappeared or were killed. Novakova provides no commentary apart from quoting Hanna Arendt’s request to de-mythologize horrible crimes and relate to them as factual reality-based episodes. Organized mass rape is not a “normal” spoil of war earned by combatants; it is a war crime against humanity. The International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia (ICTY) established in its verdicts the guilt of Serbian military leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Silence of Reason succeeds in establishing the consequence of individuals apparently suspending reason and moral considerations and instead embracing organized mass rape as a normal activity. Novakova provides a complete listing of her sources derived from the archives of ICTV, without identifying the individual women quot
Faith in Film is a boutique film festival and screenwriting competition that takes place in historic downtown Tucson, an area rich in history and culture.
Event Date May 18, 2024 April 5, 2024 Final DeadlineSUBMIT NOW
VENUE : The Screening Room in Historic Downtown Tucson
127 E Congress St
Tucson, AZ 85701
United States
Our aim is to forge a film festival and screenwriting competition that will ultimately launch the careers of faith based writers and filmmakers and facilitate established artists in transitioning into faith based films; and to introduce faith based films to mass audiences, ultimately, giving them the same multi platform release schedules and revenue streams that traditional studio films and high end independent films enjoy; and to inspire, showcase, support, and develop writers and filmmakers of all faith’s to make great faith based films that leave others touched, moved and inspired; and filmmakers and distributors empowered to make and distribute more films with an element of faith.
Our screenplay competition accepts feature length scripts (up to 135 pages), short film scripts (up to 50 pages), stage plays, sitcom pilots, and dramatic television pilots.
Our film festival accepts feature length films up to 110 minutes in length and short films (up to 40 minutes in length) in several categories. It is a celebration of filmmaking that allows artists and industry professionals at all levels to come, network, and showcase their work. For many filmmakers it will be the first time anyone has seen their work on the silver screen.
Faith in Film is a Cinema Public House production. We are a US based independent festival company that produces both live festivals and online festivals all over the world.
We accept inspirational films in any genre. Most of our entries are Christian films. However we've also showcased several films from other religions like Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. We embrace all people from all faiths and everyone is welcome to enter and attend our festival.
Awards & Prizes
The Faith in Film Screenwriting Competition rewards winning screenwriters with various prizes, including consultation packages provided by Roadmap Writers. Our grand prize winner receives a one hour consultation with script notes with a top talent manager or production executive in New York or Los Angeles. They also receive 1.5 pages of script notes from our final round judge. This in addition to respect and recognition. Our top two finalists will also receive one consultation each as well. These introductions can be invaluable to writers.
Winners will receive a 4-month InkTip Pro Membership. As an InkTip Pro Member, thousands of filmmakers can find and read your scripts, and you'll be able to pitch directly to production companies every week. With over 3,000 options and 400 movies made, InkTip is the place for independent film.
Moving forward all film winners will also be awarded credit and recognition on IMDB!
Please note that we do not advertise who we will be introducing our screenwriting grand prize winner to as we prefer to tailor the introduction to the individual writer's style so as to get them the most benefit. For example, if our winner wrote a drama, we wouldn't be connecting them with people who specialize in comedy.
Only the screenwriting Grand Prize Winner and top two Finalists receive industry distribution a
Let's take a glance at Immersive: All Around Cinema section of the 26th TiDF, featuring eight films that compete for the Golden Alexander, as well as a special art installation by the electronic music legend Jean-Michel Jarre.
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