| 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam | |
| Opening: | Head South by Jonathan Ogilvie |
| Closing: | La Luna by M. Raihan Halim |
| Location: | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Founded: | 1972 |
| Number: | 400 |
| Date: | Opening: Closing: |
| Main: | International Film Festival Rotterdam |
| Previous: | 2023 |
| Next: | 2025 |
The 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam, is the 2024 edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, which began on 25 January 2024. The festival opened with Head South a New Zealand film by Jonathan Ogilvie.[1] [2] The complete line-up of films competing in the festival was revealed on 18 December 2023.[3] The festival closed on 4 February 2024 with La Luna by M. Raihan Halim.
Rei by Tanaka Toshihiko of Japan won the Tiger Award whereas, Kiss Wagon by Midhun Murali from India and Flathead by Jaydon Martin from Australia won the Special Jury Awards. The VPRO Big Screen Award was awarded to The Old Bachelor by Oktay Baraheni from Iran. Green Border by Agnieszka Holland won the Audience Award.[4]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening film | ||||
| Head South | Jonathan Ogilvie | New Zealand | ||
| Closing film | ||||
| La Luna | M. Raihan Halim | Singapore, Malaysia | ||
The following films are selected to compete for the Tiger Award. The line-up was announced on 19 December 2023.[8]
Highlighted title indicates award winner.| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire | Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich | United States | |
| Flathead | Jaydon Martin | Australia | |
| Grey Bees | Dmytro Moiseiev | Ukraine | |
| Kiss Wagon | Midhun Murali | India | |
| Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others | Farshad Hashemi | Iran, Germany, Czech Republic | |
| Moses | Jenni Luhta, Lauri Luhta | Finland | |
| The Rim | La parra | Alberto Gracia | Spain |
| Formosa Beach | Praia Formosa | Julia De Simone | Brazil, Portugal |
| Rei | Tanaka Toshihiko | Japan | |
| Journey of Shadows | Reise der Schatten | Yves Netzhammer | Switzerland |
| She Fell to Earth | Susie Au | Hong Kong | |
| sr | Lea Hartlaub | Germany | |
| Swimming Home | Justin Anderson | United Kingdom | |
| Under a Blue Sun | Daniel Mann | France, Israel | |
The following films are selected to compete for the VPRO Big Screen Award.[9] [10]
Highlighted title indicates award winner| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aire: Just Breathe | Leticia Tonos | Dominican Republic, Spain | |
| Children of War and Peace | Ville Suhonen | Finland | |
| Trust | Confidenza | Daniele Luchetti | Italy |
| Eternal | Ulaa Salim | Denmark, Iceland, Norway | |
| Milk Teeth | Sophia Bösch | Germany, Switzerland | |
| The Old Bachelor | Oktay Baraheni | Iran | |
| Portrait of a Certain Orient | Marcelo Gomes | Brazil, Italy, Lebanon | |
| Seven Seas Seven Hills | Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai | Ram | India |
| Steppenwolf | Adilkhan Yerzhanov | Kazakhstan | |
| Tenement | Inrasothythep Neth, Sokyou Chea | Cambodia | |
| The Worst Man in London | Rodrigo Areias | Portugal | |
| Yohanna | Robby Ertanto | Indonesia, United Kingdom, Italy | |
The following films were selected to compete for the Tiger Short Competition.[11]
Highlighted title indicates award winner| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 MWh | Marie-Magdalena Kochová | Czech Republic | |
| 6000 mensonges | Simon Rieth | France | |
| Break no.1 & Break no.2. | Lei Lei | China | |
| Crazy Lotus | Naween Noppakun | Thailand | |
| Daphne was a torso ending in leaves | Catriona Gallagher | Italy, Greece | |
| Digital Devil Saga | Cameron Worden | USA | |
| Two Sides of the Tortoise | Los dos lados de la tortuga | Oscar Illingworth | Ecuador |
| Few Can See | Frank Sweeney | Ireland | |
| Flatastic | Alice Saey | France, Netherlands | |
| Flower Show | Elli Vuorinen | Finland | |
| History Is Written at Night | La historia se escribe de noche | Alejandro Alonso Estrella | Cuba, France |
| I Would Rather Be a Stone | Radije bih bila kamen | Ana Hušman | Croatia |
| Like a Sick Yellow | Si e verdhë e sëmurë | Norika Sefa | Kosovo |
| Petticoat Fire | Mox Mäkelä | Finland | |
| Adrift Potentials | Potenciais à Deriva | Leonardo Pirondi | Brazil, USA |
| Teen Girl Fantasy | Marisa Hoicka | Canada | |
| Terminal Island | Sam Drake | USA | |
| To Exist Under Permanent Suspicion | Valentin Noujaïm | France | |
| Void | Iwasaki Yusuke | Japan | |
| The Watchman | Nöbetçi | Ali Cherri | Italy France |
| Workers' Wings | Krahët e punëtoreve | Ilir Hasanaj | Kosovo |
The Short & Mid-length film programme showcases films under 63 minutes.
| 1014 | Deborah S. Philips | Germany | |
| 102 Narra | Rafael Manueal, Tatjana Fanny | Netherlands | |
| Ade (on a Sunday) | Theja Rio | India | |
| Alguén me chamou Serpe Negra | Borja Santomé Rodríguez | Spain | |
| Azul Pandora | Alan González | Cuba | |
| Baulera 12 | Mila Araoz, Amaru Villanueva Rance | UK | |
| Beautiful Men | Nicolas Kepens | Belgium | |
| Bonnarien | Adiel Gliot | French Guiana | |
| A Brave New World | Arnold Tam | Hong Kong | |
| Bull's Heart | Margarita Bagdasaryan | Uzbekistan | |
| Coral | Sonia Oleniak | USA | |
| Dau:añcut (Moving Along Image) | Adam Piron | Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma | |
| Dear Shadow, My Old Friend | Timoteus Anggawan Kusno | Netherlands | |
| Denials, Decoys | Micah Weber | USA | |
| Descent | Syd Farrington | UK | |
| Dig It | Gabriel Lester | Netherlands | |
| East Coker | Wang Hanxuan | China | |
| The Electric Kiss | Rainer Kohlberger | Austria | |
| O filme feliz :) | Duarte Coimbra | Portugal | |
| Flux | Youjin Moon | USA | |
| Golden Dragon | Boren Chhith | Cambodia | |
| Grandmamauntsistercat | Zuza Banasińska | Netherlands | |
| Holographic Will | Mike Stoltz | USA | |
| I Am Hymns of the New Temples | Wael Shawky | Italy | |
| I Would've Been Happy | Jordan Wong | USA | |
| I. / II. / III. | Alexandre Larose | Canada | |
| If I'm Here It Is by Mystery | Clari Ribeiro | Brazil | |
| In Dreams | Josh Shaffner | USA | |
| The Inescapable Desire of Roots | Mark Chua, Lam Li Shuen | Singapore | |
| The Instability of Clouds | Zazie Ray-Trapido | USA | |
| Is my Living in Vain | Ufuima Essi | UK | |
| Isblink | Olga Krüssenberg | Sweden | |
| Keep Looking | Ayo Akingbade | USA | |
| Leela | Tanmay Chowdhary | India | |
| lessons in flight | Cecilia Araneda | Brazil | |
| Light, Noise, Smoke, and Light, Noise, Smoke | Nishikawa Tomonari | Japan | |
| Line of Sight | Ali Eslami | Netherlands | |
| Loophole | Jordan Strafer | USA | |
| Lose Voice Tool Kit | Adele Dipasquale | Italy | |
| Magic & Propaganda | Lilia Filina | Russia | |
| Manántula | Ion de Sosa | Spain | |
| A Man Imagined | Malanie Shatzky, Brian M. Cassidy | Canada | |
| Man of Aral | Helena Gouveia Monteiro | Ireland | |
| Materia vibrante | Pablo Marín | Argentina | |
| Molecular Delusions | Quentin L'helgoualc'h | France | |
| Msaytbeh, the elevated place. | Rawane Nassif | Lebanon | |
| El neceser rojo | Serge Garcia | Mexico | |
| Ojitos mentirosos | Elena Duque | Spain | |
| On Plains of Larger River & Woodlands | Miguel de Jesus | Portugal | |
| Pain | Ivan Faktor | Croatia | |
| Peeper | Han Changlok | South Korea | |
| Pistoleras | Natalia del Mar Kašik | Austria | |
| Preoperational Model | Philip Ullman | Netherlands | |
| Questioning the Existence of Alec | Roger Horn | South Africa | |
| A Radical Duet | Onyeka Igwe | UK | |
| Schalafsand | Elias Böttcher | Switzerland | |
| The Silence of Iron | Mariana de Melo | Brazil | |
| Silent Panorama | Nicolas Piret | Belgium | |
| Sleepy Heads | Tudor Cristian Jurgiu | Romania | |
| space_invaders.exe | Malaz Usta | Netherlands | |
| Spirits of the Black Leaves | Thaweechok Phasom | Thailand | |
| Stero | Tevin Kimathi, Millan Tarus | Kenya | |
| Storyboard Suli | Anggun Priambodo | Indonesia | |
| El tercer mundo después del sol | Analú Laferal, Tiagx Vélez | Colombia | |
| To the spirits in the room | Cate Giordano | USA | |
| Um tropeço em cinco movimentos | Valentina Rosset | Brazil | |
| UNDR | Kamal Aljafari | Palestine | |
| Water Hazard | Alexander David | Portugal | |
| When the Wind Rises | Chen Hung | Taiwan | |
| The Witness Tree | Niranjan Raj Bherwal | Nepal | |
| The Wool Aliens | Julia Parks | UK | |
| You can't get what you want but you can get me | Samira Elagoz, Z Walsh | Netherlands | |
| Zanatany, L'empreinte des linceuls esseulés | Hachimiya Ahamada | Belgium |
The programme will highlight first-feature films from promising filmmakers.[12]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Countries (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 78 Days | Emilija Gašić | Serbia | |
| Naangal | Avinash Prakash | India | |
| a Few Mornings, an Evening | Astrid van Nimwegen | Netherlands | |
| The Heirloom | Ben Petrie | Canada | |
| Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust | Ishan Shukla | India | |
| yours, | Eva Giolo, Rebecca Jane Arthur, Katja Mater, Sirah Foighel Brutmann, Eitan Efrat, Maaike Neuville | Belgium | |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Year | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121280 Ritual | Antoinetta Angelidi | 2008 | Greece | |
| Cinema Bruciato | Clemens Klopfenstein | 2024 | Switzerland | |
| Godsterminal | Georg Tiller | 2024 | Austria | |
| Hair Piece: A Film for Nappyheaded People | Ayoka Chenzira | 1984 | United States | |
| Joymoti Never Left | Mehdi Jahan | 2024 | India | |
| Naked Acts | Bridgett M. Davis | 1995 | United States | |
| Obsessive Hours at the Topos of Reality | Rea Wallden | 2023 | Greece | |
| Overnight Flies | Georg Tiller | 2016 | Austria | |
| Parama | Aparna Sen | 1985 | India | |
| Parama: A Journey with Aparna Sen | Suman Ghosh | 2024 | India | |
| Persona Beach | Georg Tiller | 2011 | Austria | |
The programme will showcase contemporary cinema.[13]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Views of Lake Biwa | Marko Raat | Estonia | |
| 100 Yards | 门前宝地 | Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng | China |
| Anubhuti | अनुभूति | Anirban Dutta | India |
| Cosmic Miniatures | Alexander Kluge | Germany | |
| Dream Team | Lev Kalman, Whitney Horn | New Zealand | |
| Elegies | 詩 | Ann Hui | Hong Kong |
| Fire on Water | Sun-J Perumal | Malaysia | |
| Greice | Leonardo Mouramateus | Brazil | |
| Head South | Jonathan Ogilvie | United States | |
| Hungry Ghost Diner | We Jun Cho | Malaysia | |
| Power Alley | Levante | Lillah Halla | Brazil |
| Lolo & Sosaku' The Western Archive | Sergio Caballero | Spain | |
| Maia – Portrait With Hands | Alexandra Gulea | Germany | |
| Mário | Portugal | ||
| Small Hours Of The Night | Daniel Hui | Singapore | |
| So Unreal | United States | ||
| The Cursed Land | Panu Aree | Thailand | |
| Trolley Times | India | ||
| Who’ll Stop the Rain | 青春並不溫柔 | Su I-hsuan | Taiwan |
| Heresy | Witte Wieven | Didier Konings | Netherlands |
| Zone | Christina Friedrich | Germany | |
| God Between Us | Zwischen uns Gott | Rebecca Hirneise | Austria |
The programme highlighted the expansion of cinema to installations, exhibitions and live performance.
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 miljard ikken | Tibor de Jong | Netherlands | |
| The Assembly | Charlotte Bruneau | Luxembourg | |
| I'm Terribly Sorry | Rachel Maclean | United Kingdom | |
| Realmbreak Hotel | Floris van Laethem | Netherlands | |
| Small Acts of Violence | Aay Liparoto | Belgium | |
The programme will showcase cinematic highlights of film festival favourites and international award-winners.[14]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andersland | An Vrombaut | ||
| Blèh | Tim Alards, Pepijn van Essen | ||
Special Jury Awards