IFFR director Rutger Wolfson looks back on a wonderful festival, and forward to showcasing the Tiger films in New York. Geoffrey Macnab reports
“We are not alone!” Swiss filmmaker and artist Pipilotti Rist encouraged a packed audience to shriek out at the top of its lungs during a talk in Rotterdam earlier this week. Festival director Rutger Wolfson, looking back on the 39th International Film Festival Rotterdam, cites Rist’s situationist exercise in audience manipulation as one of his highlights from this year’s event. Rist’s phrase, “we are not alone,” could stand as the motto for the festival itself as it enters its final weekend. Solidarity has been the watchword as filmmakers, film-goers and industry delegates have congregated in Rotterdam in their usual vast numbers for a festival celebrating cinema at its most innovative.
Interaction
“It’s really nice to see that so many films I really like are getting such a good response,” Wolfson says. “For me personally, it has been wonderful. I have just floated along on a very nice level of enthusiasm and adrenalin.” Brandishing a “hand-crafted” poster given to him by artist/filmmaker Cameron Jamie, the Rotterdam boss enthuses about IFFR’s Kino Climates sidebar. He is equally upbeat about the 3D screening of Dial M For Murder in the Back To The Future section and about the many top-notch international auteurs (François Ozon, Harmony Korine, to name but two) who’ve been in town, throwing themselves into the festival’s extracurricular activities. Whether it has been Tsai Ming Liang’s coffee beans (a hot seller at the Break Even store) or Korine and Jamie’s public appearances, the interaction between filmmakers and public has been warm and enthusiastic throughout the festival. Wolfson makes a convincing case that 2010 really has seen the festival “reloaded.”
Cinema Reloaded
The Cinema Reloaded initiative, which encourages festival-goers to “become a producer” by buying coins to invest in three new shorts, at least one of which is to be shown at next year’s event, has made a promising start. Wolfson acknowledged that the three projects have not yet attracted quite as much financing from festival-goers as was hoped. “Of course, we didn’t know how it would work. It’s the first time we have done something like this. It’s really an experiment,” Wolfson reflects. “We noticed, with industry people and also with audiences, that it wasn’t really visible yet at the beginning of the Festival. We have been communicating a lot about it, but it has to sink in with people, I guess.”
Africa
The second half of this year’s festival saw the launch of Where Is Africa/Forget Africa. “The initial response has been very positive,” Wolfson says of a programme that is still very much underway. The festival will be looking to strengthen yet further its ties with Africa. “It’s clear that we now have a more in-depth knowledge and have made some good contacts. The Hubert Bals Fund is also very much interested in African countries, and in how to develop a film culture there. What we need to do is look at which new steps we can take…we’ve started something, and we can build from that.”
Fond Farewell
IFFR’s Managing Director Patrick van Mil is shortly to depart from the festival and join the Stedelijk Museum, in mid-March. “On a more personal note, I am very sorry to see him leave. We get along very well and he is really exceptionally good at what he does. I am sorry to see him go but I understand… the Stedelijk Museum is the most important museum we have in Holland, apart from the Rijksmuseum, perhaps. It’s a fantastic recognition of his talents.”
Audience
Audience figures appear to be holding up, even if there are fewer venues this year. “We have a good feeling about it,” Wolfson said, although precise statistics won't be available for a few more days. One constant debate throughout the festival has been about the state of arthouse distribution. Many have noted that the films Rotterdam screens are struggling more and more to make headway in the marketplace. During the Festival, though, this work has kept cinemas packed – a sign that audiences are there if the work is presented in the right way.
Profile
Wolfson insists that Rotterdam’s relevance for the industry is undiminished. “We have a very, very clear profile. Industry people know that if they have a special kind of film that is adventurous or innovative, Rotterdam is a really good place to launch, either in CineMart or when it is finished as a premiere,” Wolfson states.
New York
In March, the Rotterdam boss will be off to New York for the IFFR showcase at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Most of the Tigers will be screening. “I think it will be a good moment for the Festival. For American film industry people who went to Sundance or Berlin or didn’t have time to see the Rotterdam selection; they can now see it.”
With the end of the Festival in sight, Wolfson is now beginning to turn his attention toward domestic tasks. As the father of young children, the IFFR boss isn’t likely to have much down time. What does next week have in store? “To do all the household chores. I am sure that my wife has made a list of broken stuff in my house…”