VPRO Tiger Award candidate Ilya Khrzhanovsky gets Golden Cactus

The Golden Cactus, the first Theo van Gogh Award for Maverick Film Makers, goes to Ilya Khrzhanovsky. The Russian filmmaker's feature film début 4 is selected in VPRO Tiger Awards Competition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. 4 is supported by the IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund. The Golden Cactus Award was handed over to the filmmaker, prior to the screen premiere of 06/05 by Theo van Gogh, by 06/05 principal actors Tara Elders and Thijs Römer on Sunday January 30 in Rotterdam film festival venue Luxor in Rotterdam. 06/05 was the Opening Film of the IFFR programma section Dutch Perspective. The Golden Cactus Award is an initiative of Column Film, the production company of Theo van Gogh.

Emile Fallaux (former IFFR director) and Dimitri Eipides (programmer of the Toronto and Thessaloniki film festivals) commented on their jury decision as follows: "The feature début by Ilya Khrzhanovsky, 4, is a subversive film. 4 is based on a script by Vladimir Sorokin, a well-known radical writer who has challenged numerous taboos in Russian culture, such as using foul language or homosexuality. His works have sparked controversy, and his enemies have publicly burned his books. Khrzhanovsky's choice to collaborate with Sorokin for his first feature project demonstrates his intention to explore the boundaries of Russian tolerance. The controversy that resulted from it can not be a total surprise for the director. He turned down an official request to cut certain scenes out of the film. The film has been finished a year ago, but has still not been screened in Russia. Already the film has raised many discussions but still Khrzhanovsky has not been able to present his brave d ébut feature to Russian audiences. The jury of the Theo van Gogh Award has found in Ilya Khrzhanovsky a filmmaker who dares to take necessary risks to form and show his intentions. A real quirky maverick from the kind the film world needs more of."