Festivals News

50th edition of IFFR: complete lineup, online format announced

During today's press conference, (IFFR) announced vital details for its 2021 edition. IFFR 2021 will also take place from 1 to 7 February, and will be opened by film “Riders of Justice” by Anders Thomas Jensen and the Robby Müller Award recipient Kelly Reichardt. They will also be part of IFFR Talks, next to Benoît Jacquot, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, Dea Kulumbegashvili and Nicolás Jaar. IFFR 2021 will also be the first year for new festival director Vanja Kaludjercic — who is also debuting IFFR's online format. The entire online programme will be available to audiences across the Netherlands, and the Press / Industry screenings, IFFR Talks programmes accessible worldwide. Premieres will have Q&As and live interaction will be available to limited ticket capacity for 72 hours.

Next year's slate also shows plenty of promise. Of the 16 films selected for the festival's Tiger Competition, 6 hail from different points of Asia — spanning from Georgia to Lebanon to China. In the Big Screen Competition, nearly half of the 15 films are titles from Asia Pacific; and in the Ammodo Tiger Short Competition, 6 of 22 films are of Asian origin.

Still: “Agate Mousse” (Selim Mourad, Lebanon, 2021)

Tiger Competition

The festival's flagship Tiger Competition is IFFR's unrivalled platform for emerging film talent and features a larger selection than in previous editions, sixteen titles in total. The jury will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, worth €40,000, and two Special Jury Awards, worth €10,000 each. The Tiger Jury consists of filmmaker and visual artist Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, artistic director of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) Orwa Nyrabia, visual artist and filmmaker Hala Elkoussy, screenwriter and critic Helena van der Meulen and film producer Ilse Hughan. Read more about the Tiger Jury here

Tiger Competition 2021 selection

  • Agate mousse, Selim Mourad, 2021, Lebanon, world premiere
  • Bebia, à mon seul désir, Juja Dobrachkous, 2021, Georgia/UK, world premiere
  • Bipolar, Queena Li, 2021, China, world premiere
  • Black Medusa, ismaël, Youssef Chebbi, 2021, Tunisia, world premiere
  • A Corsican Summer, Pascal Tagnati, 2021, France, world premiere
  • The Edge of Daybreak, Taiki Sakpisit, 2021, Thailand/Switzerland, world premiere
  • Feast, Tim Leyendekker, 2021, Netherlands, world premiere
  • Friends and Strangers, James Vaughan, 2021, Australia, world premiere
  • Gritt, Itonje Søimer Guttormsen, 2020, Norway, international premiere
  • Landscapes of Resistance, Marta Popivoda, 2020, Serbia/Germany/France, world premiere
  • Liborio, Nino Martínez Sosa, 2021, Dominican Republic/Puerto Rico/Qatar, world premiere
  • Looking for Venera, Norika Sefa, 2021, Kosovo/Macedonia, world premiere
  • Madalena, Madiano Marcheti, 2021, Brazil, world premiere
  • Mayday, Karen Cinorre, 2021, USA, international premiere
  • Mighty Flash, Ainhoa Rodríguez, 2021, Spain, world premiere
  • Pebbles, Vinothraj P.S., 2021, India, world premiere

Big Screen Competition

The Big Screen Competition is a diverse competition bridging the gap between popular, classic and art house cinema. This year, fifteen titles have been selected; which is more than previous years. IFFR invites an audience jury to grant the VPRO Big Screen Award. The winning film receives a guaranteed theatrical release in the Netherlands and will be broadcast on Dutch TV by VPRO and NPO. In addition, a €30,000 prize is awarded, equally shared between the filmmaker and the distributor who releases the film.

Big Screen Competition 2021 selection 

  • Archipel, Félix Dufour-Laperrière, 2021, Canada, world premiere
  • Aristocrats, Sode Yukiko, 2020, Japan, international premiere
  • As We Like It, Chen Hung-i & Muni Wei, 2021, Taiwan, world premiere
  • Aurora, Paz Fábrega, 2021, Costa Rica/Mexico, world premiere
  • Carro Rei, Renata Pinheiro, 2021, Brazil, world premiere
  • The Cemil Show, Bariş Sarhan, 2021, Turkey, world premiere
  • Drifting, Li Jun, 2021, Hong Kong, world premiere
  • The Harbour, Rajeev Ravi, 2021, India, world premiere
  • The Last Farmer, M. Manikandan, 2021, India, world premiere
  • Lone Wolf, Jonathan Ogilvie, 2021, Australia, world premiere
  • The North Wind, Renata Litvinova, 2021, Russia, world premiere
  • El perro que no calla, Ana Katz, 2020, Argentina, European premiere
  • Sexual Drive, Yoshida Kota, 2021, Japan, world premiere
  • Les Sorcières de l'Orient, Julien Faraut, 2021, France, world premiere
  • The Year Before the War, Dāvis Sīmanis, 2021, Latvia, world premiere

“Happy Valley” (Simon Liu, Hong Kong/USA, 2021)

Ammodo Tiger Short Competition

IFFR has announced 22 short films selected for the Ammodo Tiger Short Competition, including ten world premieres, eight international premieres and two European premieres. The jury consists of audiovisual curator Anna Abrahams, curator and writer Amira Gad, and artist and filmmaker Vincent Meessen. They will determine which three titles will receive three equal Ammodo Tiger Short Awards, each worth €5,000.

Ammodo Tiger Short Competition 2021 selection

  • 80 000 ans, Christelle Lheureux, 2020, France, international premiere
  • earthearthearth, Daïchi Saïto, 2021, Canada, world premiere
  • Er is een geest van mij, Mateo Vega, 2021, Netherlands/Peru, world premiere
  • Erde essen, Laura Weissenberger, 2021, Austria, world premiere
  • The Eternal Springtime, Việt Vũ, 2021, Vietnam, world premiere
  • Flowers blooming in our throats, Eva Giolo, 2020, Italy, international premiere
  • For the Sake of Calmness, Newsha Tavakolian, 2020, Iran, international premiere
  • Happy Valley, Simon Liu, 2020, Hong Kong/USA, international premiere
  • The Hole's Journey, Ghita Skali, 2020, Netherlands, world premiere (festival)
  • Lemongrass Girl, Pom Bunsermvicha, 2021, Thailand, world premiere
  • Letter From Your Far-Off Country, Suneil Sanzgiri, 2020, USA, international premiere
  • Luces del desierto, Félix Blume, 2021, France/Mexico, world premiere
  • Maat Means Land, Fox Maxy, 2020, USA, world premiere (festival)
  • Manifesto, Ane Hjort Guttu, 2020, Norway, international premiere
  • Plant (879 pages, 33 days), Ruth Höflich, 2020, Australia, European premiere
  • Sunsets, everyday, Basir Mahmood, 2020, Italy, international premiere
  • Surviving You, Always, Morgan Quaintance, 2021, UK, world premiere
  • Tellurian Drama, Riar Rizaldi, 2020, Indonesia, European premiere
  • Terranova, Alejandro Pérez Serrano/Alejandro Alonso Estrella, 2021, Cuba, world premiere 
  • Tracing Utopia, Catarina de Sousa/Nick Tyson, 2021, Portugal, world premiere
  • Who Is Afraid of Ideology? Part 3 Micro Resistances, Marwa Arsanios, 2020, Colombia/Germany, world premiere (festival)
  • The Women's Revenge, Su Hui-yu, 2020, Taiwan, international premiere

Limelight lineup and opening film

A selection of thirteen Limelight titles will feature next to the competitions, making up the film lineup for February. The Limelight selection of avant-premieres and cinematic highlights includes the world premieres of Mitra by Kaweh Modiri and Dead & Beautiful by David Verbeek, both by Dutch filmmakers. And the opening film: the international premiere of absurdist tragicomedy Riders of Justice by Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen, starring Mads Mikkelsen.

  • Beginning, Dea Kulumbegashvili, France/Georgia, 2020, Dutch premiere
  • Dead & Beautiful, David Verbeek, Netherlands, 2021, world premiere
  • Dear Comrades!, Andrei Konchalovsky, Russia, 2020, Dutch premiere
  • First Cow, Kelly Reichardt, USA, 2020, Dutch premiere
  • Mandibules, Quentin Dupieux, France, 2020, Dutch premiere
  • Mitra, Kaweh Modiri, Netherlands, 2021, world premiere
  • La nuit des rois, Philippe Lacôte, France/Côte d'Ivoire/Canada, 2020, Dutch premiere
  • Quo vadis, Aida?, Jasmila Žbanić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2020, Dutch premiere
  • Riders of Justice, Anders Thomas Jensen, Denmark, 2020, international premiere 
  • Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, Sammo Hung/Ann Hui/Patrick Tam/YuenWoo-ping/Johnnie To/Ringo Lam/Tsui Hark, Hong Kong/China, 2020, Dutch premiere
  • Shorta, Anders Ølholm/Frederik Louis Hviid, Denmark, 2020, international premiere
  • Suzanna Andler, Benoît Jacquot, France, 2020, international premiere
  • Sweat, Magnus von Horn, Poland, 2020, international premiere

About the author

Grace Han

In a wave of movie-like serendipity revolving around movies, I transitioned from studying early Italian Renaissance frescoes to contemporary cinema. I prefer to cover animated film, Korean film, and first features (especially women directors). Hit me up with your best movie recs on Twitter @gracehahahan !

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