For its returning section of tribute programmes, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Jan 26 - Feb 6, 2005) has selected Albanese, Paris based artist Anri Sala as Artist in Focus. A choice of new and older video based works by Sala will be presented in Museum Boijmans and in several IFFR programme sections. The 2005 edition of IFFR's section Exploding Cinema focuses on sound in relation to cinema but also other art forms. Subtitled Sound Check, the section consists of a film programme, several exhibitions and debates. During IFFR 2005 the Rotterdam based Dutch Fotomuseum presents Screen Tests, an exhibition of art works using different (audio) visual media about the effect of the film or photo camera on the human face. The IFFR 2005 related exhibitions will be opened on Thursday January 27, 2005. Several exhibitions stay open for the public after the festival.



For the first time the work of Anri Sala, whose oeuvre has been on display on several continents in high profile art institutions, will be screened and exhibited within the context of an international film festival that has a strong taste for avantgarde art forms related to moving image culture. Past IFFR editions featured Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and Isaac Julien as Artists in Focus. IFFR 2005 presents a tribute to Sala in close collaboration with the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen where a choice of Sala's new and previously made art installations will be exposed. In addition, Sala's video documentaries, video portraits, short films and photo's will appear in several IFFR 2005 programme sections like Exploding Cinema, Short Films and the Screen Test exhibition in the Dutch Fotomuseum.


The IFFR programme section Exploding Cinema: Sound Check will focus on sound as independent art form or as main inspirational tool for audiovisual artists and film-makers. IFFR programmer Edwin Carels curates this returning, cutting edge IFFR section consisting of film programmes, exhibitions, presentations and debates. The programme, this edition subtitled Sound Check, presents manifestations of sound in relation to and as source of inspiration in several media. The group exhibition murmur in TENT. features art installations where more subtle forms of sound can be heard and seen. The film programme includes feature length films (Abbas Kiarostami's 5; Une visite au Louvre by Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet) and many short(er) films: Matt Hulse's Audible Picture Show, an experimental sound work by Jonas Mekas, animated mini-opera's of Estonian artist Matti Kutt, conceptual video clips by Tony Cokes and Kirsten Winter, combining symphonic partitions with avantgarde animated film.


Further Sound Check related IFFR 2005 events are: Testing Testing, a series of daily presentations in art gallery Witte de With by attending artists and film-makers; the art installation Science Friction Jazz in V2_ (featuring among others sound artist Francisco Lopez); the world premieres of five IFFR commissioned short films inspired by a new sound track of composer David Shea (part of the educational project Zien Kijken Filmen in collaboration with the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland); DVdrome: presenting a new genre of DVD's where the alternative, independent music culture experiments with interesting combinations of sound and images.


The effect of the film or photo camera on the human face is the subject of the IFFR 2005 exhibition Screen Tests in the Rotterdam Dutch Fotomuseum. A choice of recently restored screen tests dating from the sixties by the genre's godfather, Andy Warhol, serves as introduction to a group exhibition inspired by the same idea using 16 or 35 mm and video film, photography or slideshows. Expected titles are for example Manon de Boer's short film and documentary project with Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel and a new project by Johan Gimonprez with Alfred Hitchcock look-alikes.