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Film und Medien Stiftung NRWNewsNewsFour films funded by the Filmstiftung at the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam

Four films funded by the Filmstiftung at the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam

  • Film- und Medienstiftung NRW once more a partner at the CineMart for co-productions
  • Largest film festival in The Netherlands from 22 January to 2 February, 2020
  • New artistic director Vanja Kahidjercic

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will be starting on 23 January with four Filmstiftung-backed productions in its programme that have already have a remarkable festival journey behind them. The Voices sidebar will be featuring Alice Winocour’s ¨Proxima¨ with Eva Green and Matt Dillon, which had its festival premiere in Toronto and was awarded the Special Jury Prize in San Sebastian. This section will also present ¨Fanny Lye Deliver’d¨ by Thomas Clay, which had already been shown at the London Film Festival, and Amjud Abu Alais' ¨You Will Die At Twenty¨ which had its world premiere in Venice and received an award. ¨About Endlessness¨ by Roy Andersson, who was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction in Venice for his drama, has been invited to the Perspectives sidebar.

The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is also a long-standing partner of the CineMart, the platform for co-productions, and the Rotterdam Lab. The 37th CineMart is being held from 26 to 29 January as part of the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam. The CineMart organises the Rotterdam Lab, a five-day workshop for young producers from all over the world, who are able to expand their network and gather experiences of an international festival and film market during their stay in Rotterdam. This year’s participants from North Rhine-Westphalia are Claus Reichel from filmfaust and Regina Jorissen from 2 Pilots.

The largest film festival in The Netherlands is being held from 22 January to 2 February. The complete programme can be found on the festival’s website (www.iffr.com).

About the films in detail:

Voices

¨Proxima¨
Eva Green, Matt Dillon, Lars Eidinger and Sandra Hüller star in Alice Winocour’s drama. Winocour wrote the screenplay with Jean-Stéphane Bron. It is the story of the astronaut Sarah who is training at the Cologne Space Center. Principal photography was at, among other places, the European Space Agency ESA in Cologne, France, Russia, and Kazakhstan. The French production companies Dharamsala and Darius Films co-produced with Cologne-based Pandora Film and Pathé Productions (F) with the broadcasters France 3 Cinéma, Canal+ and Ciné+. World sales are being handled by Pathé. The Filmstiftung backed the production with 180,000 Euros, with additional funding coming from the CNC Région Ile-de-France. Winocour was the co-screenwriter of the Oscar-nominated film ¨Mustang¨ and directed ¨Augustine¨ and ¨Disorder¨ which were both shown in Cannes.

¨You Will Die At Twenty¨
Muzamel is the long-awaited child of deeply religious parents. They live in a village on the Nile. His ritual blessing is interrupted by dervishes. This leads to the curse that he will die on his 20th birthday. Everyone in the family, school and mosque believes this. Jaiballah and Naiema are temporary companions as is the old roughneck Suleiman who has come back from Khartoum. Finally, Muzamel is standing in front of his grave. He alone must decide whether to surrender to the curse – or can he escape it? Amjad Abu Alal directed the film from a screenplay by Youssef Ibrahim. Mustafa Shehata and Islam Mubarak appear in the leading roles. The Cologne-based production company Die Gesellschaft DGS produced the film with andolfi (FR), DUOFilm (NOR) and Transit Films (EGY) in co-production with Station Films (SDN) and Film Clinik (EGY). The Filmstiftung supported the film’s postproduction. Additional funding came from the World Cinema Fund and the Doha Film Institute, among others. Pyramide (FR) is handling the world sales. The film had already attracted attention in Venice as the first Sudanese film to screen in the Giornate degli autori sidebar and was awarded the ¨Lion of the Future¨, the ¨Luigi de Laurentis Award¨, as Best Debut Film.

¨Fanny Lye Deliver’d¨
¨Fanny Lye Deliver’d¨ is set in 1857 and tells the story of a woman who manages to free herself from an oppressive marriage and the narrowness of her surroundings. The director and screenwriter Thomas Clay shot the film with David Morrissey and Maxine Peake. The production by Pull Back Camera was a co-production with Essential Films and in association with the broadcasters ZDF/Arte. The Filmstiftung backed the project with 150,000 Euros.

Perspectives

¨About Endlessness¨
A couple hovers over war-torn Cologne. On the way to a birthday party, a father stops in the pouring rain to tie his daughter’s shoelaces. Girls are dancing in front of a cafe. A defeated army is on its way to the prison camp. Andersson uses fantastic elements to reflect on human life in al its beauty and cruelty, in its sublimity and banality, and in its striving and stumbling. ¨About Endlessness¨ was produced by Roy Andersson Filmproduktion (SE) with Parisienne de Production (FR), 4 1/2 Fiksjon (NOR) in co-production with Essential Films and in association with broadcasters ZDF and Arte, and backing of 100,000 Euros from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. Neue Visionen is handling theatrical distribution in Germany. Roy Andersson was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director in Venice for this drama.