International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the first wave of programming selections for its upcoming 54th edition of the festival, taking place from 30 January – 9 February 2025. These 13 titles span the Bright Future and Harbour programming strands and will each have their world premiere at IFFR.

IFFR’s Bright Future selection of feature-length debuts is characterised by original subject matter and an individual style, representing the cutting edge of contemporary filmmaking – with each title having either its world, international or European premiere. Echoing Rotterdam’s port city identity, Harbour offers a safe haven to the full range of contemporary cinema that the festival champions. The Harbour strand’s first wave of selected titles digs into themes of self-discovery, societal norms and the human condition.

Previous titles in Bright Future from the most recent edition of IFFR include breakouts “King Baby,” distributed by Circle Collective, “78 Days,” which has gained both awards and critical acclaim following its IFFR debut, “Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust,” picked up by Anonymous Content and New Europe Content after premiering in the festival, and “A Few Mornings, an Evening” which released theatrically in The Netherlands in May.

Standout titles from last edition’s Harbour include “8 Views of Lake Biwa,” which was selected by Estonia as an Academy Awards contender; Amanda Kramer’s “So Unreal;” “Hayat” from Zeki Demirkubuz which went on to become Turkey’s Academy Award entry for ‘Best International Feature Film’; and IFFR’s 2024 Opening Film, “Head South” from director Jonathan Ogilvie.

The first wave of the programme features returning IFFR alumni, including Daniel Hoesl, a former Tiger Award Winner for micro-budget experimental feature Soldate Jeannette with his newest work “Un gran casino;” Hubert Bals Fund awardee Pelin Esmer, who returns to the festival with a world premiere of “And The Rest Will Follow;” Christina Friedrich presenting “The Night Is Dark and Brighter than the Day,” which comes after her IFFR debut this year with ZONE; and avant-garde trailblazer Alexander Kluge returns, after the world premiere of “Cosmic Miniatures” in the most recent edition of the festival, with “Primitive Diversity” for the 2025 instalment.

Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR, said: “One of the biggest joys of curating IFFR is working with our team of programmers to create a line-up that showcases the breadth of cinematic experiences and a multitude of perspectives – and our first selection of titles demonstrates our commitment to this ambition. We can also see each year what a vital launch platform this is for titles which go on following their IFFR debut to commercial and critical success – and continue to champion and celebrate the progress of the projects we shared earlier this year in our 2024 edition. Across Bright Future and Harbour, we already have some incredible emerging and established voices, and an amazing blend of genres and human stories, that we know our avid and curious audiences are going to love discovering.”

The complete programme for IFFR’s 54th edition will be launched on the 17th December 2024.

The first selections across Bright Future and Harbour are as follows:

BRIGHT FUTURE

“1 Girl Infinite” (World Premiere)
Director: Lilly Hu
United States, Latvia, Singapore
Two teenage girls, Yin Jia and Tong Tong, live together in this colour-drenched vision of Changsha, China. When Tong Tong drifts away and falls in with a drug dealer, Yin Jia’s love for her means she’ll risk everything to keep Tong Tong by her side.

“Camp D’été” (World Premiere)
Director: Mateo Ybarra
Switzerland, France
In Switzerland, the Scout Movement is not a nostalgic fantasy but a vibrant social reality. This bubbly documentary captures the communal cycle of activities during a 14-day camp for youth. No reality TV-style contrived scenes here, this is a moving, joyful glimpse into life-changing experiences.

“Later in the Clearing” (World Premiere)
Director: Márton Tarkövi
Hungary, Spain
In a small Hungarian town painter Péter Molnár leads filmmaker Márton Tarkövi on a journey through meadows, clearings and Molnár’s drawings. The viewer joins them, as they discuss art, time and life itself.

“Invisible Flame” (World Premiere)
Director: Oskar Weimar
Kenya
When fish begin to vanish, community members are quick to blame Dani, the elderly woman rumoured to be a witch. Daisy, a fisherman’s daughter, must decide whether to stand by her friend or heed the warnings of those around her.

“Your Touch Makes Others Invisible” (World Premiere)
Director: Rajee Samarasinghe
Sri Lanka, United States
As many as 100,000 people, predominantly members of the minority Tamil community, are estimated to have disappeared during the 26-year-long Sri Lankan Civil War. Through a unique synthesis of interviews, news clips and re-enactments this docufiction feature reflects on this harrowing history as families search for loved ones that disappeared without a trace.

HARBOUR

“And the Rest Will Follow” (World Premiere)
Director: Pelin Esmer
Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania
Dreamy housekeeper Aliye spends her days between hotel rooms, escaping into the lives of the guests. But after a brief encounter with a famous filmmaker, Aliye decides that she has a story to tell, which leads to an entanglement of lives and fictions.

“Dead Dog” (World Premiere)
Director: Sarah Francis
Lebanon
Walid and Aida, husband and wife, are reunited after Walid’s many years spent living abroad. Answers to long-hidden secrets are sought in Sarah Francis’ dissection of an estranged marriage.

“Finding Ramlee” (World Premiere)
Director: Megat Sharizal
Malaysia
An endearing retro dramedy set in swinging seventies Kuala Lumpur. Destitute and deep in debt, Zakaria is offered a lifeline by his loan shark: impersonate the Malaysian screen icon P. Ramlee in order to entertain his homebound, time-warped sister.

“No Dejes a Los Niños Solos” (World Premiere)
Director: Emilio Portes
Mexico
A mother moves into a new house with her two children. One night she must leave the siblings home alone. What begins as a blast of carefree play soon turns into a claustrophobic horror story.

“Primitive Diversity” (World Premiere)
Director: Alexander Kluge
Germany
Filmmaker Alexander Kluge loves to use the expression ‘primitive diversity’ in relation to the origins of his art: the first films that were made, their genres, motives and moods. With the development of AI, Kluge asks, what could its primitive diversity look like?

“Thank You Satan” (World Premiere)
Director: Hicham Lasri
Morocco, France
In this dark comedy set in the early 1990s, all Serge wants to do is write his Fucking Best Seller! When his publisher nags him to shake things up and bring out his ‘mainstream potential’, he gives it all he has and, with a killer edge.

“The Night Is Dark and Brighter Than the Day” (World Premiere)
Director: Christina Friedrich
Germany
Filmmaker Christina Friedrich asks 33 primary school children about their fears, taking us on a long night-journey through a magic world of their creation. What can the ‘real world’ learn from the games and rituals of children?

“Un Gran Casino” (World Premiere)
Director: Daniel Hoesl
Austria
The largest casino in Europe but is it just a big mess? Daniel Hoesl presents Un gran casino as an angry musing on a building, an Italian village and all that is done in the name of the unfettered creation of wealth.

About IFFR
International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) upcoming 54th edition of the festival will take place from 30 January – 9 February 2025, with the full programme being launched on 17th December 2024. With each edition, IFFR presents a leading international film festival and year-round programme and actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through its co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Lab and other industry activities.

IFFR seeks to expand, enrich and challenge people’s views of the world and each other through film and audiovisual arts. IFFR’s programme deepens appreciation of cinema in all its forms, broadens and diversifies audiences, and creates opportunities for independent filmmakers and artists from around the globe.

Through IFFR’s visionary programming and forward-looking initiatives, we create a haven for the plurality of voices, audiovisual formats and diverse storytelling. We are an essential destination for film professionals and film lovers. We support filmmakers and artists with funding and development opportunities and advance the impact of their work in the world. We are accessible to everyone. Through screenings, talks, exhibitions, education, professional initiatives and funding schemes we bring people from all backgrounds together, enabling discovery, recognition dialogue, learning and development. We look where others don’t and we open a space for ideas, pushing creative boundaries that have the power to transform.

IFFR is supported by partners including OCW, Gemeente Rotterdam, Creative Europe Media, NL Film Fonds, droom en daad, Fonds 21, de Volkskrant and VriendenLoterij.