The International Film Festival Rotterdam has appointed two new festival programmers. Inge de Leeuw (the Netherlands) will select films from the English-speaking world and Evgeny Gusyatinskiy (Russia) from Russia, Central and Eastern Europe.
Festival director Rutger Wolfson on the appointments: “Having contributed vigorously to the success and character of the IFFR for many years, programmers Erwin Houtenbrink, Ludmila Cvikova and Irma Dulmers have left the festival. The enormous range of films on offer and the vast worldwide network of filmmakers and producers with which the festival, the Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart maintain contact make a strong programming team more than essential. I am therefore delighted to welcome Inge and Evgeny as IFFR programmers.”
Inge de Leeuw studied Culture Sciences in Amsterdam and Film & Television Sciences in Utrecht. Once her studies finished, she started working at the IFFR programme department for the festival’s 2006 edition combined with working in film production. In 2010 and 2011, she worked as assistant programmer and producer of commissioned works in the ‘Where is Africa?’ section. For IFFR 2011, she compiled the ‘Out of Fashion’ programme on film and fashion – a programme that was also shown in Maastricht, Saint Petersburg and Sao Paolo, and will shortly be travelling to Moscow. She writes about film and technology for the Creators Project. Inge de Leeuw will be selecting films for the IFFR from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand as well as for the Tiger Awards Competition.
Evgeny Gusyatinskiy studied film history and theory at the VGIK (All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography). Following his studies, he worked as a film critic and journalist for a range of Russian media. He is an editor of Film Art (Russian: Iskusstvo Kino), the oldest film magazine in Europe. He has been visiting the IFFR since 2005, when he was part of the IFFR’s Young Film Critics Project. He has selected full-length films for the Kinotavr film festival in Sochi since 2006 and compiles programmes for the Pioner Cinema arthouse cinema in Moscow. For the IFFR, Evgeny Gusyatinskiy will be selecting films from Russia, Central and Eastern Europe.
The arrival of Inge and Evgeny marks a redistribution of research areas within the team of programmers: Chinlin Hsieh now takes on the selection of films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland next to France and French-speaking Canada, while Gertjan Zuilhof will select films from Central and Southern Africa, next to North- and Southeast Asia. A full list of the Rotterdam festival programmers and their research areas follows hereafter.
A team of ten IFFR programmers selects the full-length films and film-related artworks for the festival. The short films shown at the festival are selected by a committee with seven members. The IFFR is characterised by the stylistic and thematic cohesion of its programme, and the presentation and active support for new, innovative and independent film art. The festival is one of the largest cultural events in the Netherlands and one of the most highly attended and influential film festivals in the world. The 41st IFFR will take place from 25 January to 5 February 2012.
Programmers IFFR:
Edwin Carels (Theme sections, arts installations, Signals: Regained)
Evgeny Gusyatinskiy (Russia, Central and Eastern-Europe)
Chinlin Hsieh (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and French-speaking Canada, Tiger Awards Competition)
Peter van Hoof (Short films; India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka)
Inge de Leeuw (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Tiger Awards Competition)
Dicky Parlevliet (General with focus on France)
Gerwin Tamsma (China, Korea, Spain, Latin-America, Portugal, Scandinavia, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Tiger Awards Competition)
Rutger Wolfson (General, Netherlands, Tiger Awards Competition)
Gertjan Zuilhof (North and Southeast Asia excluding China and Korea, Central and Southern Africa, Tiger Awards Competition)
To be announced (Turkey, Arabic world)
 
Selection committee for short films:
Sacha Bronwasser
Erwin van ’t Hart
Peter van Hoof (Chair)
Juliette Jansen
Peter Taylor
Theus Zwakhals