Rotterdam Film Festival 2008 Film Line-Up
January 9th, 2008 by Andre Soares
The 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), which runs between Jan. 23–Feb. 3, has announced the 15 films (see below) vying for the 2008 VPRO Tiger Awards. All entries are first or second features.
The festival will open with the world premiere of Lucía Cedrón’s narrative feature-film debut Cordero de Dios / Lamb of God (photo), about an elderly man kidnapped during Argentina’s catastrophic economic crisis of 2002. The man’s fate forces his exiled daughter to return to Buenos Aires and confront her family’s past, which also involves a late 1970s kidnapping — one for political reasons.
According to Cedrón, Lamb of God is a "work of fiction that is related to things that happened to me. Even though the story is totally fictitious, the subject matter is something that is very close, deep, and painful."
Lucía’s father, Jorge Cedrón, was the director of the clandestinely made and released 1973 political thriller Operación Masacre, about the state-sponsored 1956 massacre of civilian supporters of a counter-military coup. Cedrón was murdered — under still nebulous circumstances — in Paris, to where he had moved with his family after Argentina’s military coup of the mid-1970s.
Lamb of God stars Mercedes Morán, Jorge Marrale, Leonora Balcarce, Malena Solda, Juan Minujín, and Ariana Morini.
The Tiger Awards are worth Euros 15,000 (US$22,070) for each of three winning features and Euros 3,000 (US$4,414) for the short film awards.
Lucía Cedrón’s quote: La Argentinidad … Al Palo
Rotterdam 2008 VPRO Tiger Awards Competition
Eat, for This Is My Body (Mange, ceci est mon corps) by Michelange Quay (France/Haiti), European premiere
Flower in the Pocket by Liew Seng Tat (Malaysia), European premiere
Fujian Blue (Jin bi hui huang) by Wemg Shou-ming (China), European premiere
Go with Peace Jamil (Ma salama Jamil) by Omar Shargawi (Denmark), world premiere
The King of Ping Pong (PingPong-Kingen) by Jens Jonsson (Sweden), European premiere
Lamb of God (Cordero de dios) by Lucía Cedrón (Argentina), world premiere, Opening Film
Las Meninas by Igor Podolchak & Dean Karr (Ukraine), world premiere
Shanghai Trance by David Verbeek (The Netherlands), world premiere
The Sky, the Earth and the Rain (El cielo, la tierra y la lluvia) by José Luis Torres Leiva (Chile), world premiere
Strizh by Abai Kulbai (Kazakhstan), international premiere
Tale 52 (Istoria 52) by Alexiou Alexis (Greece), world premiere
Waltz in Starlight (Hoshikageno Waltz) by Shingo Wakagi (Japan), international premiere
Wellness by Jake Mahaffy (US), world premiere
Wonderful Town by Aditya Assarat (Thailand), European premiere
Years When I Was a Child Outside (Taon noong ako ‘y anak sa labas) by John Torres (Philippines), world premiere
IFFR 2008’s Tiger Awards Short Films Competition
27,000 Days by Naveen Singh (US)
5 Walks by Anna Abrahams (The Netherlands)
The Adventure by Mike Brune (US)
Ah, Liberty! by Ben Rivers (UK)
Allen Ginsberg Gives Great Head by X’Ho (Singapore)
As I Lay Dying by Ho Yuhang (Malaysia)
Batbox/Beatbox by Jani Ruscica (Finland)
Dear Bill Gates by Sarah Christman (US)
Elements of Nothing by Makino Takashi (Japan)
Foggy Mountains Break Down More Than Non Foggy Mountains by Jessie Stead (US)
Half Teaspoon (Setengah sendok the) by Ifa Isfansyah (Indonesia)
Launch by Brian Doyle (US)
Loud _Things by Telcosystems (The Netherlands)
Minot, North Dakota by Angelika Brudniak & Cynthia Madanski (US)
Mosaik mécanique by Norbert Pfaffenbichler (Austria)
Nook & Cranny by Francien van Everdingen (The Netherlands)
Observando el cielo by Jeanne Liotta (US)
The Rocket by Uruphong Raksasad (Thailand)
Sketch Film #5 by Tomonari Nishikawa (US)
Vertigo Rush by Johann Lurf (Austria)
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