38th International Film Festival Rotterdam
21 January – 1 February 2009

CineMart selects 36 film projects for the 26th edition of the co-production market

From almost 500 submissions, 36 international film projects have been selected to be presented at CineMart (25 - 29 January 2009) to an expected 850 international producers, sales agents, distributors and funds. The selection includes project by Zhang Yuan (EAST PALACE, WEST PALACE), Erik Skjoldbjærg (INSOMNIA), Ruben Östlund (INVOLUNTARY), Celina Murga (A WEEK ALONE), Radu Muntean (BOOGIE) and HIM, a cross-media project by Lance Weiler.
Dutch film makers with projects at CineMart are Norbert ter Hall, Danyael Sugawara, Ricky Rijneke and Guka Omarova.

CineMart manager Marit van de Elshout: “In order to maintain the exclusiveness of CineMart, the selection this year has been restricted to no more than 36 projects. That means difficult choices, but also more space and attention for the projects that have finally been selected. The 2009 CineMart selection is a powerful and idiosyncratic collection of projects by directors, all of which fit into the profile of the International Film Festival Rotterdam in their own way. At the same time, in view of the current situation in the international independent film industry, we have taken a good look at what a presentation at CineMart means for a project. It comes down to whether real financial partners can be found. That applies to both major productions and smaller niche ones.”

This selection, geographically spread over 26 countries from all continents, is balanced between new talent and well-known directors. In addition, there is diversity in the kinds of projects. The selection varies from the animation ALOIS NEBEL, produced by Negativ Film (the Czech company that produced all the films by Bohdan Slama) and a remake of the Korean classic THE HOUSEMAID, to the intimate family drama “3”, the first film directed on his own by Pablo Stoll, half of the famous 25 WATTS and WHISKY duo from Uruguay.

One of the largest projects is EXECUTIONER GARDEN by Zhang Yuan (China), well-known for EAST PALACE, WEST PALACE and GREEN TEA (both screened at the IFFR). The film is set in 1933 and tells the story of a man sentenced to death who, as his last wish, wants to be killed “in motion”. He escapes into the vaults of the prison and a game of life and death ensues.
Another prominent project is PIONÉR by Erik Skjoldbjærg, a thriller set in the offshore industry. The Norwegian film maker became known in 1997 thanks to INSOMNIA, later film again by Christopher Nolan.

During the 25th anniversary of Cinemart in 2008, the festival organised D-Day to look at its potential future. Cross-media projects financed in alternatives ways were presented as an introduction to a brainstorm session about the future role of festivals and in particular of a well established co-production platform such as CineMart.
The 2009 CineMart now takes the next step and incorporates this is by presenting the cross-media project HIM by Lance Weiler, known from the feature film THE LAST BROADCAST (screened at the 1999 IFFR) and the very successful ‘Alternate Reality Game’ Head Trauma.
HIM is Weiler's latest cross-media project – a collision of film, gaming, and interactive technology, placing the viewer literally in the shoes of the protagonist. This is a new type of social entertainment experience that fuses storytelling and gaming in a way that enables audience members to become collaborators within the story’s world.

Several projects have a special bond with the IFFR: they were previously supported by the festival’s Hubert Bals Fund: BERINA’S CHAKRAS by the young Bosnian film maker Faruk Loncarevic, KALAYAAN by Filipino film maker Adolfo Alix Jr, GIRIMUNHO by Helvecio Marins Jr and Clarissa Campolina from Brazil, SUR LA PLANCHE by the Moroccan Leila Kilani, and ZEPHYR by Belma Bas from Turkey. Loncarevic, Marins and Alix Jr have all been seen at the festival previously with short or full-length work.

The international film industry comes to the International Film Festival Rotterdam to scout for new projects at CineMart, but also to do business with the films in the Tiger Awards Competitions and the many premières in other programmes of the festival. This shared benefit is one of the strong points of the IFFR and the CineMart. Several makers of CineMart projects are also represented with a short or full-length film in the festival programme:

Ruben Östlund (Sweden), INVOLUNTARY in Bright Future and PLAY in the CineMart
Adolfo Alix Jr (Philippines), ADELA in Spectrum and FREEDOMLAND in the CineMart
Guka Omarova (Kazakhstan), NATIVE DANCER in Bright Future and THE SNAKEHEAD in the CineMart
Peng Tao (China), FLOATING IN MEMORY in Bright Future and STRAW MAN in the CineMart
Celina Murga (Argentina), UNA SEMANA SOLOS in Bright Future and LA TERCERA ORILLA DEL RIO in the CineMart
Chris Chong Chan Fui (Malaysia), BLOCK B in Tiger Awards Competition for short films and THE TOUR in the CineMart
Radu Muntean (Romania), BOOGIE in Bright Future, TUESDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS in the CineMart

During the festival, CineMart is organising the ninth edition of Rotterdam Lab, the training workshop for a group of about 50 young, international film producers who have been selected by the international partners of CineMart. During Rotterdam Lab, the novice producers learn how to operate effectively at international film festivals and film markets.

CineMart is not only involved in the project during the five days of the market at the IFFR. Four projects, to be announced shortly, will travel on thanks to the “Rotterdam-Berlinale Express” to the coproduction market of the Berlin Film Festival. In addition, there are cooperative ventures with the Paris Project and the Producers’ Network of the Cannes Film Festival and the “No Borders” market in New York.


CineMart Selection 2009

Title / Director / Production Company / Country

3 / Pablo Stoll / Control Z Films & Pandora Film Produktion / Uruguay / Germany
ALOIS NEBEL / Tomáš Luňák & Jaromir Svejdik / Negativ Film Productions & Tobogang / Czech Republic & Germany & Slovakia
ATOMIUM / Norbert ter Hall / Phanta Vision Film International / Netherlands
BERINA’S CHAKRAS / Faruk Loncarevic / SCCA & pro.ba / Bosnia & Herzegovina
BIRDIE / Byamba Sakhya / Guru Media / Mongolia
EXECUTIONER GARDEN / Zhang Yuan / Beijing Good Tiding Culture Development Company & Chinese Shadows / China
GALLOPING MIND / Wim Vandekeybus / Savage Film & Ginga Eleven Filmes / Belgium, Brazil
GIN & TONIC / Alice Bell / Doll / Australia
GIRIMUNHO / Helvécio Marins Jr. & Clarissa Campolina / Dezenove Som e Imagens & Teia Filmes & Autentika Films / Brazil, Germany
GREENGRASS / Nicola Mills / Quark Films / United Kingdom
HIM / Lance Weiler / Seize the Media / United States
HIVER DERNIER, L’ / John Shank / Tarantula & Limited Adventures / Belgium
Essential Film Produktion / France & Germany
HOUSEMAID, THE / Gina Kim / Mirovision Inc. / South Korea
HUNTER, THE / Bakur Bakuradze / Salvador D Production & CTB / Russia
KALAYAAN / Adolfo Alix Jr. / Bicycle Pictures / Philippines
KURAI KURAI / Marjoleine Boonstra / Volya Films & Niko Film & Zap-o-matik / Netherlands & Belgium & Germany
LETTERS TO INGEL / Sulev Keedus / F-Seitze & Frame Productions OY / Estonia, Finland
MAN WHO HIDES THE FOREST, THE / Bertrand Mandico / Parisienne de Production & Essential Film Produktion / France & Germany
MENSONGE, LE / Dimitri Karakatsanis / CCCP / Belgium
MUNDO MISTERIOSO, UN / Rodrigo Moreno / Rizoma Films / Argentina
MY BACK PAGE / Yamashita Nobuhiro / Bitters End Inc. / Japan
NAUFRAGIO / Pedro Aguilera / Alokatu S.L. / Spain
NORDFJORD / Danyael Sugawara / SNG Film / Netherlands
PIONÉR / Erik Skjoldbjærg / Friland AS / Norway
PLAY / Ruben Östlund / Plattform Produktion / Sweden
RARE EXPORTS / Jalmari Helander / Cinet Ltd. / Finland
SILENT ONES, THE / Ricky Rijneke / Rotterdam Films / Netherlands
SKELETONS / Nick Whitfield / Forward Films / Edge City Films / United Kingdom
SNAKEHEAD, THE / Guka Omarova / Les Petites Lumières & KINOFABRIKA / France, Russia, Germany
STRAW MAN / Peng Tao / New South Independent Film Studio / China
SUR LA PLANCHE / Leila Kilani / Aurora Films & Soccochico Films / France & Morocco
TAMA / Taika Waititi / Whenua Films / New Zealand
TERCERA ORILLA DEL RÍO, LA / Celina Murga / Tresmilmundos Cine / Argentina
TOUR, THE / Chris Chong Chan Fui / Red Films & Tanjung Aru Pictures / Malaysia
TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS / Radu Muntean / Multimedia Est / Romania
ZEPHYR / Belma Bas / Filmik Productions & CMYMLZ Fikir Sanat Productions / Turkey