01 · 10 · 24

Mexican Representation at the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will feature Mexican productions in its 53rd edition, as several films have been selected to be part of its various programs. The festival will be held from January 25 to February 4, 2024.

The IFFR is regarded as one of the five most important festivals in Europe, along with the Cannes, Venice, Berlín and Locarno festivals. The festival is known for focusing on the work of emerging and talented filmmakers.

Harbour

The newest program in the IFFR. It was launched in 2021 and in the words of festival director, Vanja Kaludjercic, “the harbor is the backbone of the city of Rotterdam, just like Harbour is the backbone of the festival. It can be seen as the main program of the festival.” The selection includes films ranging from experimental and art films to documentaries and animated pieces.

For this program El águila y el gusano (2023), directed by Costa Rican filmmaker Guita Schyfter, was selected. The film focuses on the fate of an eloquent politician, his advisor, a journalist, and the beautiful owner of a beauty salon, whose hide a secret, as their lives become intertwined in a hilarious story. It was funded by EFICINE and produced by Producciones Arte, and participated in the 21st edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), where it had a special screening featuring the director and part of the cast.

Also included in the same section is Una historia de amor y guerra (2024) by Santiago Mohar Volkow. The film centers on the conflict of a corrupt real estate developer, who faces a lawsuit that threatens to destroy his marriage. Volkow has participated in different editions of the FICM such as in 2013 with his short film Sofía de Bucarest (2013) and in 2014 with Los Muertos (2014). He co-directed Sísifos (2019) with Nicolás Gutiérrez Wenhammar, with which they participated in 2019, and in 2022 his film Buen Salvaje (2022) was selected.

Limelight 

In this program we can find the most outstanding premieres in the recent festival circuit, the audience's favorite films and international award winners. Lost in the Night (2023) was the Mexican film selected for this program, directed by Amat Escalante and produced in collaboration with Germany, Holland and Denmark with the support of EFICINE. In 2023 it was part of the program of the 21st edition of FICM, where it had a red carpet and a special screening.

Focus 

The Mexican audiovisual collective, Los Ingrávidos, will also be part of the IFFR program with a special section dedicated to their work. Seeds (2023), a work that analyzes power through different aspects such as land, food, sovereignty, protest and survival, will be screened. Colmillos (2023) and Ritual (2024), films that explore spiritual, supernatural, mythical and mysterious themes, will also have their premieres.

This collective, founded in Tehuacán in 2012, is characterized by combining digital and analog media, with interventions on archival materials to deconstruct the visual grammar and ideology embodied in them.

Focus: Chile in the heart

This selection, which pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Chilean coup d'état that took the life of Salvador Allende, includes two Mexican productions: El recurso del método (1978), co-produced with Cuba and France, and Actas de Marusia (1975), both by Chilean director Miguel Littín.

IFFR Educational Programme 2024

This section seeks to offer students a cultural perspective of the world with the aim of learning to view it critically, creatively and comprehensively. For that purpose, the film Pecadillo (2023), a Mexican-American production directed by Sofía Garza-Barba, was selected. It explores the desire of a young man named Lorenzo, who has a fervent desire to embrace his feminine side at the expense of his devoted family.