International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has appointed Clare Stewart to the post of Managing Director, taking over from outgoing Managing Director Marjan van der Haar. Most recently Interim CEO at Sheffield DocFest, Clare steered the 2022 edition of that festival and worked with the Board of Trustees to recruit its new leadership. Clare commences in the role at IFFR today. Korrie Louwes, Chairperson of the Supervisory Board, said: “Clare has an unparalleled breadth of experience in strategically directing and truly championing festivals—with a track record including some of the foremost celebrations of cinema in the world”.
Clare Stewart added: “IFFR is a world-leading institution that creates meaningful, global impact for independent film and filmmakers, and it is also dear to my heart as the first international film festival I attended 25 years ago. It shaped my understanding of the interdependencies between cultural activity and industry development, and the importance of engaging a dedicated local audience while positioning a festival as vital for the international, independent film sector. Rotterdam is a city renowned for innovation, experimentation and discovery—characteristics that IFFR already champions through its artistic and industry programmes”.
Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR, said: “I am excited to be welcoming Clare to the IFFR team, and to Rotterdam as she makes this incredible city her new home. She brings a deep understanding of the artistic and commercial sides of a festival from her formidable career to date, which is perfectly suited to the dual leadership dynamic we have between our two roles. Her passion for IFFR is undeniable, and the team and I look forward to working together with her”. IFFR has a dual leadership structure where the pairing of the Managing Director and the Festival Director oversee the commercial and creative elements of the organisation respectively, but working closely in partnership.
Narrated by iconic, award-winning actor David Oyelowo (Selma, Nightingale), and featuring interviews with Dr. Beverly Law, Professor Emeritus, Global Change Biology, Oregon State University; Margo Robbins, Yurok, Cultural Advisor; and Dr. Jack Cohen, Research Physical Scientist, US Forest Service (Ret.), Scientific Advisor, among others, Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire takes viewers on a journey with the top experts from across the nation to better understand wildfire. The film starts with the harrowing escape from Paradise, California, as the town ignited from wind-driven embers and burned within a few hours of the fire's start, and then continues to recent record-shattering fires.
Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire includes the voices of the top forest and climate experts, indigenous prescribed firelighters, and fire survivors, and helps reimagine our relationship with fire as we prepare for an increasingly hotter, drier future. “California is severely affected by these fires. I did not realise how much can be done by hardening one’s home. I did not realise that embers are more dangerous than the fires”, said David Oyelowo. “It was a huge honour and a pleasure to do this documentary; it is not only informational, I think it is lifesaving. I hope it will inspire you to take some of the steps advised, and some of the steps that I am taking myself”.
In the wake of the slew of deadly fires in Oregon and half a dozen other US states, the film is an important look at discovering how we can all reimagine our relationship with wildfire, and prepare to live with this powerful force. Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire is for everyone who wants to better understand the challenges wildfire poses and the solutions to keep our homes and communities safe. The film challenges conventional wisdom and superficial talking points, while providing a revealing historical view of how we got to where we are today. The film takes viewers into the field with indigenous fire managers and top fire and climate scientists to explore how wildfire, healthy forests and communities can coexist.
The Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire filmmaking team is led by director, co-writer and editor Trip Jennings (Rewilding A Mountain, Pebble Redux, Chuitna: More than Salmon on the Line) and Dutch executive producer/co-writer Ralph Bloemers (Trout On the Wind, Decades: Born in Fire); the film has been accepted into festivals in the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia, and is being booked in cinemas worldwide. The release is in collaboration with firefighting organizations, community fire wise groups, non-profits, schools, universities and businesses, including California Fire Safe Council, the American Red Cross, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Oregon State University, and many more.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and the municipality of Rotterdam have awarded a grant of €20,000 to the Rotterdam-based Lebanese visual artist and filmmaker Diana Al-Halabi for a short experimental film on food insecurity and migration. The project will receive expert guidance and aims to premiere at IFFR 2024 as part of the festival’s Rotterdam-focused programme, RTM. Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director, said: "This is the fourth project to be successfully funded through RTM Pitch, which has been crucial for bolstering the development of Rotterdam's vibrant film scene. The sell-out RTM Day at IFFR 2023 was electrifying—we can’t wait for the next one and for the premiere of Al-Halabi’s daring project".
The Battle of Empty Stomachs will present an absurdist fashion walk through the iconic Maastunnel in Rotterdam—a musical and poetic journey exploring themes of migration, exodus and hunger. The tunnel connects the north and south of Rotterdam, two sides of the city considered marked by class and cultural divisions, here becoming a symbol for water crossings in migration and the asylum-seeking process. Diana Al-Halabi pursues an interdisciplinary practice, with a focus on moving image, text, performance and painting. Her previous short, The Disaster Cannot Be Contained (pictured above), premiered at IFFR 2023 in the RTM programme, and drew on the artist’s connections to both Rotterdam and Beirut, where she examined the devastating port explosion in 2020.
The jury consisted of Fleur Knopperts (Volya Films), Ibtisam Harrak (Rose Stories Academy) and IFFR programmer Koen de Rooij. They said: "The jury was impressed by the strikingly unconventional way the film deals with the geopolitical problem of food distribution, an urgent subject that is rarely addressed in cinema". The €20,000 grant is financed by the municipality of Rotterdam as part of its film and media policy to encourage local film talent development. Previous winners have taken a cinematic approach to local stories, including port workers and Feyenoord supporters. At IFFR 2023, Ravi Sandberg presented the 2022 RTM Pitch-winner, Fantoomwijk: a ghostly investigation into the Tweebosbuurt in Rotterdam.
