The Circuit

Three films were awarded a VPRO Tiger Award at the 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam at the Feb 1 awards ceremony.  Aditya Assarat's tsunami-themed drama "Wonderful Town," (pictured) Liew Seng Tat's comedy "Flower in the Pocket," and Ma Salama Jamil's revenge tale "Go With Peace Jamil" will each get 15,000 Euros and guaranteed broadcast on the Dutch public television network VPRO.

The Dioraphte Award for best film supported by the Hubert Bals Fund went to Sandra Kogut's "Mutum," a drama about a Braziliam boy surviving his parents' violent marriage.

FIPRESCI's International Critics' Prize was awarded to "The Sky, the Earth and the Rain," Jose Luis Torres Leiva's film about lonely people on a remote Chilean island.  The Association of Dutch film critics recognized Alexei Balabanov's Russian thriller "Cargo 200."

Rotterdam's MovieSquad award, picked by five teenage jury members, goes to Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's "Persepolis."  The award comes with Dutch distribution with the MovieZone educational program.  2000 Euros go toward the film's promotion to kids in The Netherlands.

The jury statement:

Persepolis has not been drawn in a realistic way. Yet this animated film has touched us deeply. The script was very well constructed. In a film about a girl in Iran in which political developments play such an important role, it is obvious to think of serious themes as supression by political or military leaders, corruption and poverty. All of these themes are addressed, but this film goes further. The heavier themes are relieved by a good dose of humour.

Filmmaker's Scott Macaulay has this report from Rotterdam on "Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker":

Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker, premiering here in Rotterdam, is Barbara Caspar's thoughtful and creative film biography/essay on the late writer, whose formally inventive novels, published from the '70s through the mid-90s, challenged assumptions about gender roles, sexuality, and the literary canon. A beguiling and intensely contradictory figure, Acker is best known for books which creatively appropriated texts from Great White Male writers, retelling them in an emotionally raw, sexually blunt, and politically questioning female voice.

Full report here.

Lucia Cedron's "Lamb of God" (Argentina) will open Rotterdam on Jan 23.  Ian Mundel also reports on the competition slate -- fifteen films are set for Rotterdam's VPRO Tiger Awards competition.  All are from first or second time feature filmmakers, as is the tradition, and five were partially funded by the fest's Hubert Bals Fund.

Full story here.

Rotterdam has announced their jury for the Tiger Awards.  Their lineup will come out Jan 8. 

Being such a good festival puts Rotterdam, and its co-production market Cinemart, as a necessary stop.  And since it’s stuck between Sundance and Berlin, it puts many fest goers are on the road for a solid month.

Jury of the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition for first or second feature films:
 
Renata Litvinova, Russia, filmmaker, film producer and actress
Tiziana Finzi, Switzerland, Deputy Director Locarno International Film Festival
Jafar Panahi, Iran, filmmaker and film producer
Rieks Hadders, The Netherlands, former Deputy Director of the Filmmuseum in Amsterdam
Royston Tan, Singapore, filmmaker and film producer

Jury of the Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films:
 
Moniek Toebosch, The Netherlands, visual artist
Katia Rossini, Belgium, curator of Brussels-based film theatre and film distributor Cinema Nova
Mike Hoolboom, Canada, artist working in film and video