This year International Film Festival Rotterdam will be held for the 44th time. To recap and give a taste of what’s to come, SG Erasmus organized a special screening of Finsterworld, one of the last year’s best movies, at the Erasmus Paviljoen.
The IFFR, which starts next Wednesday, has gained a reputation for its diversity. Asian gangster movies, American indie and European arthouse make up a programme to cater to any taste. “We travel around the world to capture talents that would otherwise remain unseen’’, says one of the organizers during the introduction at the Erasmus Paviljoen. The goal of the festival is to put film making into a broader social context, while showing the specific and the peculiar.
Concentration camps, German flag and aesthetics
The film of the evening, Finsterworld, illustrates this point perfectly. In line with the last year’s topic of the future of Europe, it offers a vision on contemporary Germany from different, at times surprising, angles. This masterful caricature examines the issues of alienation, fascism and morality with inimitable irony and sarcasm. In the spirit of the film, the organizers noted: “This is a rare example of a funny German comedy”.
Collaboration between IFFR and SG Erasmus
IFFR aims to be at the heart of the community, so the three years of partnership with SG Erasmus come as no surprise. “We want to involve our students and make the festival more engaging. We exchange venues, so the Film specials are shown on campus, while we will host Erasmus Film Quiz on January 26th at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg”, explains Kristin Feberwee, the Cultural Programme maker at SG Erasmus. The Film Quiz and the Tiger College events have been done during the previous festivals, while this year there’s something new in store. The screening of film Frank on January 29th is organized for a reduced price exclusively for the EUR-students.
The IFFR 2015
This year the main topic is the “Here and now”. The selection will showcase the contemporary reality as seen by creative minds around the globe. Don’t miss out and visit the festival – some of the movies would not have made it to the cinemas otherwise.
The International Film Festival will be held in Rotterdam from January 21st till February 1st.
