Editor

35th International Film Festival Rotterdam
Wednesday, January 25 – Sunday, February 5, 2006

During the IFFR 2006 Awards Ceremony on Friday, February 3, 2006 in Concert and Congress Centre ‘de Doelen’ in Rotterdam, the winning films of the 35th International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced. The three VPRO Tiger Awards were granted to WALKING ON THE WILD SIDE (LIA XIAO ZI) by Han Jie (China/France), THE DOG POUND (LA PERRERA) by Manuel Nieto Zas (Uruguay/Argentina/Canada/Spain), both supported by the Hubert Bals Fund, and OLD JOY by Kelly Reichardt (United States). On Saturday February 5, 2006 the Tiscali Audience Award will be announced.


VPRO Tiger Awards
Fourteen films by first or second filmmakers competed in the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2006. The Jury consists of Pierre Audi (artistic director Holland Festival and artistic director De Nederlandse Opera, The Netherlands), Paulo Branco (film producer, France), Lee Chang-Dong (film-maker, South Korea, Jury Chair), Martin Rejtman (film-maker, Argentina), Patrice Toye (film-maker, Belgium).

The jury statements on the VPRO Tiger Award winning films:

WALKING ON THE WILD SIDE (LAI XIAO ZI) by Han Jie (China, 2006) “In an unexpected China filled with exploding contradictions, the movie portrays with fine accuracy, the despair of the young generation. Beautifully acted and directed.”

THE DOG POUND (LA PERRERA) by Manuel Nieto Zas (Uruguay/Argentina/Canada/Spain, 2006) “The film unfolds with a deceptively slow rhythm, involving us in the life of a young man who throughout the film is constructing a house, building at the same time a world for himself.”

OLD JOY by Kelly Reichardt (USA, 2005)
“A film that seems to come from the literary tradition of the American short story becomes a truly cinematic experience that plunges the spectator into an inner journey about friendship, nature and the passing of time.”

Each VPRO Tiger Award comes with a prize of Euro 10,000 and guaranteed broadcast by Dutch public television network VPRO.

NETPAC Award
The NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Jury, consisting of Raman Shawla (Director of Osian’s Cinfan Festival of Asian Cinema, India), programmer Christine Huang (Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival,
Taiwan) and producer Peggy Chiao (Arc Light Films, Taiwan) awards two films:

THE LOST HUM (HANAUTA-DOROBOU) by Hirosue Hiromasa (Japan, 2006)
"it's powerful and original study of human nature and its subversive view towards various social issues".

and

THE BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS (ANG PAGDADALAGA NI MAXIMO OLIVEROS)
van Auraeus Solito (Philippines, 2005) .
"The human portrayal of life on the margin and the touching performance of Nathan Lopez who plays Maxi".


FIPRESCI Award
The jury of the international association of film critics FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique), consisting of Antonia Kovacheva (TRUD, Bulgaria, Jury Chair), Neil Young (BBC Radio Newcastle, UK), Barbara Schweizerhof (Freitag, Germany), Carlos Helí (Jornal Do Brasil, Brazil), Mariska Graveland (De Filmkrant, The
Netherlands) has awarded its FIPRESCI Prize to MADEINUSA by Claudia Llosa (Peru/Spain, 2005). MADEINUSA was selected in the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2006.

The jury states: ”Many films in this year’s VPRO Tiger Awards Competition dealt with the relationships between children and their parents, often within isolated communities. Fathers were killed, innocence was lost, and both fluids were spilled. There is one film however in which all of this happens... in an especially surprising, intelligent and accessible way. For these reasons, the winner of the International Critics Prize is: MADEINUSA by Claudia Llosa".


KNF Award
The jury of the KNF, the Association of Dutch film critics, at the International Film Festival Rotterdam consisting of jury Leo Bankersen (GPD, Jury Chair), Bas Blokker (NRC Handelsblad), Oene Kummer (a.o. Preview), Sven Gerrets (a.o. NL20), Clementine van Wijngaarden (Vara TV Magazine). The KNF Jury has chosen its winner among films in Rotterdam 2006 official selection that have not yet been acquired for Dutch distribution.

“The jury this year awards a debuting director who has entered with confidence the dangerous territory of melodrama. Without ever becoming sentimental she burdens her protagonists with serious problems and the big questions of life. She does so in a way, or rather various ways, that are original and risky, thereby keeping a light tone despite the weight of the events.”

The winner of the KNF Award is LOOK BOTH WAYS van Sarah Watt (Australia, 2005).

To the KNF Award, a grant is attached for subtitling the film, sponsored by HOLLAND SUBTITLING. The Award of the KNF is meant to promote the acquisition for distribution within The Netherlands.


Tiger Awards Competition for short film
The winners of the Tiger Awards for short film are BEGINNINGS by Roy Villevoye (The Netherlands, 2006) and the animations RABBIT by Run Wrake (United Kingdom, 2005) and WHO I AM AND WHAT I WANT by David Shrigley & Chris Shepherd (United Kingdom, 2005). The Tiger Awards Competition for short film are sponsored by Binger Film Lab, Amsterdam.

The Tiger Awards for Short Film, three equal prizes of 3.000,- Euro, were presented by a jury consisting of: Bianca Stigter (filmcritic, The Netherlands), Johan Grimonprez (film-maker, Belgium) and John Smith (filmmaker, United Kingdom).


Prix UIP Rotterdam
The winner of the first ‘Prix UIP Rotterdam’ for short film (prize
money: Euro 2,000) was presented to MEANDER by Joke Liberge (Belgium, 2005).

The jury consisted of Bianca Stigter (filmcritic, The Netherlands), Johan Grimonprez (film-maker, Belgium) and John Smith (filmmaker, United Kingdom).

The European Film Academy and UIP present a Prix UIP at fourteen film festivals across Europe. The prize includes 2,000 Euro and automatic nomination for the European Film Awards, the 1,600 members of the European Film Academy then vote for the winner. For the first ‘Prix UIP Rotterdam Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards’ (prize money: Euro 2,000) 15 European fiction films, of up to fifteen minutes, have been selected.


MovieSquad Award
The Rotterdam young people’s jury, consisting of Jelle (16), Nienke (19), Nina (20), Ozella (17) and Simon (18) chose the winner out of seventeen films in official Rotterdam 2006 selection. The award comprises Dutch distribution within the MovieZone educational film programme for young people and 2,000 Euro to be spend on its promotion among young people in The Netherlands.

The jury presented the Golden MovieSquad Shield to director Alexis Dos Santos for his film GLUE (GLUE (HISTORIA ADOLESCENTE EN MEDIO DE LA
NADA) (Argentina, 2006), supported by the Hubert Bals Fund and selected for the VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2006.

MovieSquad is an initiative of the Nederlands Instituut voor Filmeducatie (Dutch Institute for Film Education) in collaboration with the International Film Festival Rotterdam.


Arte France Cinéma Awards
The two Arte France Cinéma Awards (each 10,000 Euro) for the best CineMart 2006 Projects were given, during the CineMart Closing Night Party on February 1, 2006 to A MEXICAN STORY by Arturo Aristakisian (Mexico/Russia) and the Hubert Bals Fund supported HEI TIE DE RI ZI (BLACK IRON DAYS) by Wang Bing (China/France). BLACK IRON DAYS is supported by the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund.

The Arte France Cinema Awards Jury consisted of Michel Reilhac (Arte France Cinéma, France), Juliette Renaud (Wild Bunch, France) and Tanya Blumstein (Paramount Classics, France).

The Arte France Cinéma Awards are in cash, given to the producers towards financing the development of the awarded projects. By introducing the Award, Arte France Cinéma and CineMart aim to further support and promote the development and production of independent filmmaking.


Prince Claus Fund Film Grant
The sixth Prince Claus Fund Film Grant of 15,000 Euro has been awarded to the CineMart 2006 Project LASYA (THE GENTLE DANCE) By Anup Singh (India). The Grant was announced during the CineMart Closing Night Party on February 1, 2006.

The Jury of the 2006 Prince Claus Fund Film Grant consisted of: Ido Abram (The Netherlands), director of the Binger Film Institute; Shanty Harmayn (Indonesia), film producer and recipient of the 2002 Prince Claus Fund Film Grant; Ronald Ockhuysen (The Netherlands), film critic for ‘de Volkskrant’ newspaper and the VPRO broadcasting company; Peter Rorvik (South Africa), director of the Durban International Film Festival; Karim Traïdia (The Netherlands/Algeria), filmmaker, member of the Board of the Prince Claus Fund, and chairman of the Jury for the 2006 Prince Claus Fund Film Grant.

The Prince Claus Fund Film Grant aims at supporting the first creative phase of the development of a film production.

Amnesty International – DOEN Award
The documentary AVENGE BUT ONE OF MY TWO EYES (NEKAM ACHAT MISHTEY
EYNAY) (Avi Mograbi, France/Israel 2005) is the winner of the fourth Amnesty International-DOEN Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2006. Before an extra screening, the head of the jury Goran Paskaljevic will presented the human rights film award on Wednesday night February 1st at the Rotterdam Schouwburg to the Dutch distributor of the film, 1 More Film.

The last few days ten films were evaluated by the jury, which apart from Goran Paskaljevic, consists of Dutch writer Yasmine Allas and Maciej Nowicky, organiser of the Human Rights in Film International Film Festival (Warsaw). Focal points in the evaluation process are among others the way human rights are portrayed, originality and style, as well as the personal involvement of the filmmaker.

more on http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com