Fourteen films have been selected for IFFR’s VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2009. The line-up features first or second films from all continents, and includes eight world premieres competing for three equal top prizes EUR 15,000 each. For the first time, films from Turkey, New Zealand and Indonesia are included in competition.
Starting with the world premiere of the début by Quebec City-based filmmakers Henri Bernadet & Myriam Verreault,
A l’ouest de Pluton (At West of Pluto) and ending with Alicia Scherson’s second feature,
Turistas (Tourists) from Chile, the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2009 offers a wide variety of topics, styles and settings.
The Rotterdam Film Festival’s long history with young Asian filmmaking is reflected in the fact that no fewer than six films from Asia are included. Besides earlier announced productions from Japan (
Dark Harbour), Korea (
Breathless), Indonesia (
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly) and Taiwan (
No puedo vivir sin ti), this year's competition also includes Peng Tao’s gripping second feature,
Floating in Memory. The follow-up to his acclaimed
Little Moth was made with the support of the Hubert Bals Fund’s digital production grant. In all, four films in this year's competition have received grants from Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund, which is now in its twentieth year thus underscoring IFFR’s continuing commitment to filmmakers from developing countries.