International Film Festival Rotterdam

The 46th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) lands in the beautiful city of Rotterdam in January, bringing in twelve full days of carefully selected fiction, documentary, short film and media art finesse. We selected five of our favorite movie titles, out of the dozen that have already been revealed from yet another rich and multifarious program, made up of new talents to explore as well as the new work of quite some established names. Check out our first selection of five below, and make sure to catch your favorites in Rotterdam from Wednesday, 25 January up until Sunday, 5 February. Find the full IFFR program here.

All the Cities of the North

Two men live harmoniously in an abandoned holiday park. They have to find a new equilibrium when a third person shows up. Essayist fiction and architectural quest for the vulnerability of human relationships, told by using construction projects, landscapes and archival footage. A cinematic odyssey for the answer to the question: how can we co-exist?

Paterson

Adam Driver gets up at 06.00, drives his bus route, comes home at to his wife Golshifteh Farahani at 18.00, walks the dog and has a beer at his local bar. Every day. In the meantime he writes poetry. Jarmusch is the loving observer of this loving observer. A small oasis of a film.

The Woman Who Left

Lav Diaz studies economic injustice in the Philippines through the eyes of a woman who spent 30 years in prison after being falsely accused and convicted. Upon her release in 1997 she enters a strange new world: her husband has died, her relationship with her daughter has been saved, but she can’t find her son anywhere. This heart-breaking tale is a study of the chasm between rich and poor, past and present.

David Lynch: The Art Life

We mainly know David Lynch as a filmmaker, musician and meditation guru. But he started his career at a young age as a painter, in a small village in the USA. We hear him talking in his own words about his youth, his first contact with arts and his childhood memories by way of funny and remarkable anecdotes. The movie illuminates the dark corners of Lynch’ unique world and the formation of his special oeuvre.

Stan Douglas

Stan Douglas has an important international reputation in the art scene. He examines the relation between still and moving images, between what’s staged and what’s documented. Luanda-Kinshasa is a single screen installation, showing a six hour long jam session. The installation is part of Douglas’ exhibition Interregnum.