The inaugural edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (then known as Film International) was held in 1972, attracting 4500 attendees. It was organized by Huub Bals and featured 31 films. Since the very first years of its existence, the festival has been focused on promoting alternative, innovative and non-commercial film, paying special attention to works filmed in the Far East and developing countries.
In the early 1980s, IFFR founded CineMart to serve as the festival’s film market aimed to help film producers connect with possible funders and co-producers. After Bals’s sudden death of a heart attack in 1988, a fund was initiated to support filmmakers from the Third World. Bals originally intended to name the fund after Andrei Tarkovsky, but the fund was named after him instead to honor his memory and accomplishments.
Although the festival had to go through a rough patch during the mid-1980s due to lack of financing, its attendance has been growing steadily. In 2015, IFFR attracted over 300,000 visitors from all over the Netherlands and abroad.
The International Film Festival Rotterdam usually takes place in late February and lasts twelve days. Its program includes several sections where filmmakers from different countries present their works to a wide audience. Alongside the Main Competition and Short Film Competition, the program includes special sections such as Bright Future, Deep Focus, Voices, and Perspective. IFFR offers a high-quality line-up of carefully selected films and media art. Its Official Selection includes over 250 feature films and 200 short films made in around 50 countries.
IFFR was a non-competitive film festival for more than two decades. This ended in 1995 when its team introduced the Tiger Award (a tiger is the festival’s logo, loosely based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion). The festival’s Official Competition includes first or second feature fiction films. The Tiger Award is shared by the winning film’s director and producer. Other awards given out at the festival include the Tiger Award for Short Films, the Audience Award, the Huger Bals Fund Award, and others.
Photo: iffr.com
