Rotterdam is all about teamwork
February 3, 2004 - The Hollywood Reporter
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands—The 33rd Rotterdam International Film Festival, which falls just before heavyweight movie events including the Berlin International Film Festival and the American Film Market, seemed to risk getting lost in the shuffle. Instead, thanks to its parallel development market, CineMart, organizers have created a niche among professionals that’s all about shmooze.
“Informality is our secret weapon,” says CineMart chief Ido Abram. “This is one of the few festivals where everyone can talk to everyone - we’ll even introduce you to the people you want to meet.”
“Everyone” at the 21st edition of CineMart, which ran Jan. 25-29, included a wide mix of distributors, buyers, directors and other industry professionals, this year totaling some 800 international participants.
CineMart touts itself as the “first and largest co-production market worldwide,” welcoming 47 projects from around the globe. Functioning as a sort of cinematic incubator, the confab links people working with projects in almost all stages of development with other industry professionals, aiming to sow the seeds of co-productions. Working this early in the year also allows attendees to get a head start on Berlin’s European Film Market in February.
Finding out who is signing which deal is not the talk of the festival. “Deals?” asks Abram, now heading up his sixth CineMart. “We’re always the last to know. In the beginning, I used to walk around with a little notebook asking if anyone had signed any deals. Finally, a sales agent took me aside one day and said, ‘That’s not how it works here.’ “
The Dutch market lends itself to upcoming filmmakers, many hoping to build on their initial breakthroughs. Following the success of his first feature “Noi the Albino,” which itself got a leg up from CineMart, Icelandic director Dagur Kari was back in Rotterdam this year with his project “The Good Heart,” the tale of a homeless boy adopted by a bar owner. With 1.5 million euros ($1.9 million) already secured, Kari and producers Zik Zak Filmworks were looking to raise the second half of the film’s 3 million euros ($3.8 million) budget, as well as find sales agents and co-producers. Similarly, Bosnian director Jasmin Dizdar, winner of Cannes’ 1999 Gan Foundation award, came with her producers, Osiris Films, to seek funding for their project “An Executioner in Love,” a romantic comedy about the midlife crisis of an officer working on death row.
Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald attended with producer Bryan Hofbauer of eMotion Pictures and their film “3 Needles.” Both felt their trip here was worthwhile. “Every 25 minutes, you get different people coming by, from sincere sales agents to producers from fallen republics, where they say, ‘If you spend $100,000 in my country, we’ll give you a receipt for $200,000,’” Fitzgerald says. “It’s not a sales market. It’s an ideas market.”
“You end up meeting people you’ll end up working with in the future,” adds Hofbauer, who looks at Rotterdam as a “long run festival” that he plans to attend in the future.
Abram is not without statistics to back up why he calls Rotterdam a growing success: “Eighty-five percent of the projects presented here eventually end up being completed. Plus, in the past several years, we’ve grown by over 50%. - Catherine Breillat isn’t here for nothing.”
The French director attracted the biggest hype in Rotterdam. Breillat put in double duty, attending the festival for the world premiere of her feature “Anatomie de l’Enfer” (Anatomy of Hell), which sees her working again with Italian porn actor Rocco Siffredi, and using CineMart to work on raising an estimated 8 million euros ($10 million) for her upcoming project, period drama “Une Vieille Maitresse.”
The majority of the fest lineup was made up of smaller-budget independent films from around the world, although relatively larger-budget U.S. films such as “21 Grams” and “Lost in Translation” were on display.
Sixteen films vied for the festival’s three 10,000 euros ($12,600) cash prizes, the VPRO Tiger Awards. One of these - “The Wooden Camera,” directed by South African Ntshaveni Wa Luruli - was a 2001 CineMart participant, and five had obtained funding from the Hubert Bals Fund, a movie aid fund set up in honor of Rotterdam’s founder, who died in 1988.
The Rotterdam festival tipped its hat to its co-director Simon Field, who is stepping down after eight years to become the executive producer for a series of films for the city of Vienna commemorating the 2006 Mozart anniversary. Field will stay on with the festival as a Hubert Bals Fund selection committee member. Taking over the reins will be Sandra den Hamer, who has co-directed the festival since 2000.
