IFFR plans full return to cinemas and announces first titles for 2023 edition

Bright Future and Limelight titles first to be announced as plans take shape for 52nd edition.

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) announces the first titles for its next full in-person edition from 25 January to 5 February 2023. The festival is set to welcome audiences with a complete programme of features, shorts, focus programmes, installations, performances and more. Industry, press and education activities will once again take place throughout Rotterdam with the heart of the festival at ‘de Doelen’. Bright Future and Limelight are the first programme sections to have confirmed titles in the lineup.

Bright Future

The first titles in the Bright Future programme, dedicated to young and emerging film talent, are announced. A supernatural virus spreads across Sri Lanka in Jagath Manuwarna’s powerfully satirical debut feature Whispering Mountains, which has its world premiere in Rotterdam. Likewise Umut Subasi world premieres his Istanbul-set deadpan dramedy Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster. A rural Kenyan village gives the name to Angela Wanjiku Wamai’s gripping debut Shimoni, which screens in Europe for the first time following its TIFF premiere.

More about Bright Future here.

Clockwise: Whispering Mountains (Jagath Manuwarna), Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster (Umut Subasi), Amiko (Morii Yusuke), Shimoni (Angela Wanjiku Wamai) / Courtesy of IFFR

Limelight

The Limelight lineup of avant-premieres and cinematic highlights from the year’s festival circuit will include Pierre Földes’ beguiling animated take on Haruki Murakami’s short stories Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, as well as Alice Diop’s courtroom drama Saint Omer. Two couples defy the authorities in Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s No Bears, which will screen at the festival while its director remains imprisoned in Iran.

More about Limelight here.

Saint Omer by Alice Diop / Courtesy of IFFR

No Bears by Jafar Panahi / Courtesy of IFFR

IFFR Pro

The 40th edition of IFFR’s co-production market CineMart will take place from Sunday 29 January to Wednesday 1 February, with one-to-one meetings and informal networking taking place in person for the first time since 2020. Reality Check, IFFR’s platform to reflect on and discuss current issues in the film industry, also returns.

The Pro Hub team welcomes industry guests and filmmakers to join panels, workshops and mentor meetings – providing an informal networking environment for the whole filmmaking community.

More than 40 IFFR Pro partners from across the globe annually nominate up-and-coming producers to attend Rotterdam Lab, where they broaden their networks and develop their skills and knowledge for international co-production. New participants for 2023 will be joined by selected graduates from the last two online editions who are invited to Rotterdam to celebrate their achievements and share their recent experiences.

Other talent activities include hosting the second part of Creative Producer Indaba, a scheme for the professional development of emerging African producers. Selected filmmakers and projects participating on BoostNL will also complete their bespoke programme.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Pierre Földes

IFFR Media Outreach & Inclusion Scheme

Journalists and media makers from communities who are underrepresented in the festival’s press community are invited to apply for the IFFR Media Outreach & Inclusion Scheme. The scheme aims to welcome new and diverse voices to report on the festival by providing complementary accreditations and more.

Full details can be found here.

Full IFFR 2023 lineup, accreditations and more

Follow all our updates on IFFR.com for details of upcoming programme announcements – including Tiger Competition, Big Screen Competition, Ammodo Tiger Short Competition, Harbour, Art Directions, Cinema Regained, Focus programmes, the remaining Limelight and Bright Future selections, Short & Mid-length and more. The full IFFR 2022 lineup will be announced during a press conference on Monday December 19. More information regarding accreditations will follow shortly.

IFFR 2023 First confirmations in full:

Bright Future

Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster, Umut Subasi, 2023, Turkey, world premiere
La amiga de mi amiga, Zaida Carmona, 2022, Spain, international premiere
Amiko, Morii Yusuke, 2022, Japan, international premiere
Clementina, Agustín Mendilaharzu, Constanza Feldman, 2022, Argentina
A los libros y a las mujeres canto, María Elorza, 2022, Spain, international premiere
La mala familia, Nacho A. Villar, Luis Rojo, 2022, Spain, France, international premiere
Shimoni, Angela Wanjiku Wamai, 2022, Kenya, European premiere
Whispering Mountains, Jagath Manuwarna, 2023, Sri Lanka, world premiere

Limelight

Aftersun, Charlotte Wells, 2022, United States, United Kingdom
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Pierre Földes, France, Canada, Luxembourg, Netherlands
The Blue Caftan, Maryam Touzani, 2022, Morocco, Belgium, Denmark, France
Boy from Heaven, Tarik Saleh, 2022, Sweden, Finland, France
Eo, Jerzy Skolimowski, 2022, Poland, Italy
Godland, Hlynur Pálmason, 2022, Denmark, Iceland
Mediterranean Fever, Maha Haj, 2022, Palestine, Germany, France, Cyprus, Qatar
Medusa Deluxe, Thomas Hardiman, 2022, United Kingdom
No Bears, Jafar Panahi, 2022, Iran
Nostalgia, Mario Martone, 2022, Italy
Un petit frère, Léonor Serraille, 2022, France
Saint Omer, Alice Diop, 2022, France
War Pony, Riley Keough, Gina Gammell, 2022, United States