On 7 June 2011, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and the Fundashon Bon Intenshon signed a partnership agreement sealing their organisation of a four-day film festival in Willemstad on Curaçao in 2012. The first edition of the new festival will take place from Thursday 29 March – Sunday 1 April 2012 under the name ‘Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam’. Curaçao IFFR’s main location will be The Cinemas, the new six-screen complex in the Otrobanda area of Willemstad.

Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam will augment the range of films that can be seen in Willemstad by screening independent and artistic films, documentaries and shorts. The film festival’s programme, with an emphasis on Caribbean and Latin-American films, will consist of IFFR 2012 selections and newer work, an educational programme for schoolchildren and special events including a drive-in screening. In total, some 20 films will be screened. As is the case in Rotterdam, the organisation will attempt to get as many filmmakers as possible to present their work in Willemstad and to answer audience questions after the screenings.

IFFR Director Rutger Wolfson: “It is our pleasure to be organising Curaçao IFFR together with Fundashon Bon Intenshon; a great initiative which will expand the range of culture available in Willemstad. The festival wishes to inspire cinemagoers and young talented filmmakers from around the region. To the IFFR, this represents a welcome addition to the international activities the festival uses to draw attention to the films it screens and actively supports.
A special event will be held during the coming 41st IFFR in Rotterdam which will look ahead to the first edition of Curaçao IFFR. The film programme will subsequently be drawn up and advice provided regarding the production of the festival in Willemstad. An excellent range of commercial films can already be watched on Curaçao. Together with Fundashon, the IFFR wishes to create an audience for more artistic films there, and in the surrounding region.”

Gregory Elias, founder and chairman of the Board of Fundashon Bon Intenshon: “We want to utilise this initiative to further strengthen the range of artistic activities on Curaçao. We hope this festival will become an annual event which will, over time, allow Curaçao to present itself as a meeting place for filmmakers and producers from the Caribbean and Latin America. I would like to thank all the people who constructively and creatively helped set up this festival over such a short period of time. In particular, I would like to thank Eduardo de Veer, who responded enthusiastically both in word and deed from the start, and graciously made The Cinemas available as a festival location. This contribution has enabled us to organise a festival of this scale in partnership with the IFFR. We expect the event to attract many new, interested visitors both from the island and abroad. Addressing the IFFR, I would like to say: ‘Rotterdam, we think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship’.”

IFFR Business Director Janneke Staarink: “The cooperation between the IFFR and Fundashon Bon Intenshon not only comprises organising Curaçao IFFR, but we are proud to be able to welcome Fundashon Bon Intenshon, alongside our existing partners – de Volkskrant, VPRO and UPC – as the fourth main sponsor. The IFFR and Fundashon intend to enter into a multi-year cooperation.”

Fundashon Bon Intenshon was founded in 1990 on Curaçao. The Fundashon supports projects in the field of education, culture, sports, poverty alleviation, care and tourism on Curaçao and elsewhere on the basis of social and societal commitment.
The Fundashon has been the main sponsor of Dutch premier league football club NEC since the 2008-2009 season, is the main sponsor of baseball club Sparta-Feyenoord and is the co-organiser and sole sponsor of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival, the second edition of which will take place on 2 and 3 September 2011.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam, one of the Netherlands’ largest cultural events, is not only a must for film fans, but also for adventurous culture lovers. The festival opts for young film talent, for film auteurs with an independent, innovative style and for filmmakers or artists who explore boundaries and transgress these in novel ways. The festival programme consists entirely of films that have never before been screened in the Netherlands. The Hubert Bals Fund, which supports filmmakers from developing countries, and CineMart, the world’s largest co-producers’ market for film projects for small to medium-sized budgets, are also part of the IFFR’s activities. Furthermore, the IFFR has an educational programme, its own DVD label ‘Tiger Releases’ and a YouTube channel. In 2011, the festival attracted 340,000 visitors. The 41st IFFR will take place from 25 January – 5 February 2012 in Rotterdam and it will draw ample attention to the festival in Curaçao among its visitors and the readers, listeners and viewers of its various media communications.

Websites:
IFFR Curacao: www.iffrcuracao.com (under development)
IFFR: www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com