"Vitrival" in competition at IFFR 2025 for its world premiere!
"Vitrival", "Maldoror", "Listen to the Voices", "Eddy" and "Cinzas e nuvens" are selected for the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam!
One of the largest public film events in the world, IFFR actively supports independent filmmaking from around the globe and is a recognized platform in Europe for launching new films and talent from Asia, Africa, Middle and Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Vitrival, the new film directed by Noëlle Bastin and Baptiste Bogaert, will have its world premiere in the Tiger Competition at the Dutch festival. The Tiger Competition is IFFR’s flagship competition, celebrating the innovative and daring spirit of emerging filmmakers from around the globe. The film is produced by Naoko Films.
Benjamin and Little Pierre, cousins and local policemen, patrol Vitrival while listening to Radio Chevauchoir. They have a lot to do: dick graffitis are popping up on the village walls. Of course, no one has seen or heard anything. At the same time, a villager commits suicide, then two, then three.
Season after season, dick graffitis and suicides proliferate. What can Benjamin and Petit Pierre do about it?
Days and celebrations will keep flowing, no matter what.
Merckx by Christophe Hermans and Boris Tilquin has been selected for the Limelight section, which features the most anticipated films by audiences that have circulated in international festivals in 2024. Produced by Kaos Films, the documentary will also have its world premiere.
Eddy Merckx is much more than a cycling champion; during his era of unprecedented sporting victories in the 1960s and 1970s, he embodied the fusion of the distinct cultures of Wallonia and Flanders in Belgium.
Also in the Limelight section, we find Maldoror by Fabrice Du Welz. The film is produced by Frakas Productions and internationally sold by WTFilms.
Belgium, 1995. The alarming disappearance of two young girls shakes the population and triggers an unprecedented media frenzy. Paul Chartier, an idealistic young gendarme, joins the secret operation "Maldoror," dedicated to monitoring a repeat offender suspect. Faced with the dysfunctions of the police system, he embarks on a lone manhunt that drives him into obsession.
Listen to the Voices by Maxime Jean-Baptiste is selected in the Harbour section. Echoing Rotterdam's port city identity, the Harbour selection offers a safe haven for the full diversity of contemporary cinema championed by the festival. Developed within the framework of SoundImageCulture, the film is produced by Twenty Nine Studio & Production, co-produced by Atelier Graphoui, and internationally represented by MoreThan Films.
Melrick is a troubled young boy spending his summer in Guyana with his grandmother to escape his tumultuous daily life in Stains, France. At the end of his stay, he plays the drum to honor the memory of his late uncle, Lucas Diomar, who died under tragic circumstances. Despite a wave of murders of young men shaking the news, Melrick becomes aware of his place in a family shattered by an irreparable loss.
Finally, Cinzas e Nuvens by Margaux Dauby, produced by Kokoro, is part of the festival's Short & Mid-Length section.
The film portrays several women engaged in seasonal fire-watching work in Portugal. It delves into their breathing, the passage of time, and solitude, from an intimate perspective.
Let’s also note the presence of the French-speaking Belgian co-productions Julie Keeps Quiet (Les Films du Fleuve, Limelight) and Vermiglio by Maura Delpero (Versus production).
Join us in Rotterdam from January 30 to February 9, 2025!
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