International Film Festival Rotterdam
January 26 - February 6, 2011
Rotterdam / Netherlands
The Bright Future program section, in which International Film Festival Rotterdam presents debut or second feature films, will this year screen eighteen world premières, ten international premières and eleven European premières.
Bright Future: World Premiere
I Love You
Director: Kostomarov Pavel, Rastorguev Aleksandr
Producer: Melkumov Sergey, Rodnyansky Aleksandr
Production company: Non-stop Production
Я тебя люблю , Russia, 2011, 72 min, Drama doc, Experimental
An original portrait of young people in Russia, mostly amateurs who received cameras from the directors and help in filming their own life stories. A mosaic of everyday situations with unexpected camera angles revealing characters’ ordinary but also hidden lives. D.O.P and director Pavel Kostomarov and irector Alexander Rastorguev join forces in this modern experiment, in search of a new film language and new methods. There are three stories of three young male friends from Rostov-on-Don. The authors were casted from fifty open-minded non-professionals who would not be scared to use a camera themselves and who could record their own lives while being totally natural.
A few months ago, You Too - the directors' new project made in the same vein - was included in Doc Launch, a presentation of upcoming documentary releases that took place in October 2010. Click here to read more about all films presented at Doc Launch 2010.
You Too
Director: Kostomarov Pavel, Rastorguev Aleksandr
Producer: Kostomarov Pavel, Rastorguev Aleksandr
Russia, 100 min, 35 mm, Digi Beta, Drama doc, Experimental
He has left the first one and has become fond of the second. Then he realized he actually loves the first but he cannot leave the second... Equipped with video cameras, they each shoot their own truth. The project's hallmark is the absence of conventional distance between the main character, the narrator, and the viewer. This is achieved through a subjective, hand-held video diary. The film primarily focuses on young people and their lives, desires, hypersexuality, ennui and paradoxical freshness.
Section: Spectrum
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
Director: Ujica Andrei
Producer: Moraru Velvet
Production company: Icon Production
Autobiografia lui Nicolae Ceausescu , Romania, 2010, 180 min, 35 mm, History, Politics, Portrait
"After all, a dictator is simply an artist who is able to fully put into practice his egotism. It is a mere question of aesthetic level, whether he turns out to be Baudelaire or Bolintineanu, Louis XVI or Nicolae Ceausescu." (Andrei Ujica). During the summary trial that he and his wife were submitted to, Nicolae Ceausescu is reviewing his long reign in power: 1965-1989. It is an historical tableau that in its scope resembles American film frescos such as those dedicated to the Vietnam War.
East Silver 2010
Section: Spectrum Shorts
My Vote
Director: Gorgan Andrei, Lazurean-Gorgan Monica
Producer: Ionescu Radu, Lazurean-Gorgan Monica
Production company: 4 Proof Film
Grojdibodu , Romania, 2010, 42 min, Digi Beta, Creative, Human Rights, Politics, Portrait, Social Issues, Society
The village of Grojdibodu, Romania - a local election is coming and Tudorel Nitulescu looks to get his fifth term as the village mayor. In order to secure victory, he unleashes all of his power and influence as manipulation and bribery spread its tentacles over the village to get the necessary votes. A portrait of a young democracy overrun by corruption and deceit.
Section: Bright Future
Off the Beaten Track
Director: Auner Dieter
Ireland, Romania, 2010, 93 min, Creative, Social Issues
When their wives go to work in Germany, the men in a rural Romanian village suddenly don’t have any spare time any more. Beautifully observed, powerful but gentle documentary about the changing world of shepherds in Transylvania. With great empathy and original ‘sheet music’. 'Why do we still keep sheep?' The shepherds in the meticulous, loving documentary Off the Beaten Track repeatedly ask themselves this. They are continuously involved with the animals, but the work no longer brings up as much as it used to: the price for lamb, wool and sheep’s cheese has dropped dramatically in recent years.
The 40th Rotterdam IFF runs January 26 - February 6, 2011.