Latest news with #IFFR
Broadcast Pro
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
CineMart calls for project submissions for 43rd edition
The upcoming edition will mark the introduction of CineMart x HBF, a new official strand spotlighting Hubert Bals Fund-supported projects. CineMart, the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), has opened project submissions for its 43rd edition, which will be held during the 55th IFFR from January 29 to February 8, 2026. The upcoming edition will debut a new strand titled CineMart x HBF, designed to highlight projects supported by the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF), further reinforcing the festival's commitment to fostering original storytelling and nurturing emerging talent. As CineMart continues to evolve and expand, applicants are encouraged to note changes to the submission process. This includes a tiered fee structure aimed at accommodating the growing volume of entries and the resources required to evaluate them. The standard and late submission deadlines are set for August 21 and August 27, respectively. Priority will be given to projects making their first market presentation at Rotterdam, emphasising the market's role as a launchpad for bold new voices in cinema. The CineMart x HBF initiative seeks to strengthen the relationship between IFFR's funding and market activities, offering an integrated path for previously supported HBF projects. Recent successes such as Gabriel Mascaro's The Blue Trail and Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light underscore the potential impact of this synergy, both having benefited from HBF support and CineMart exposure en route to international acclaim. CineMart 2026 will also continue to embrace immersive media storytelling, inviting submissions from projects in development that seek funding or co-production partners. Recent immersive works presented at CineMart have gone on to receive international recognition, including Duchampiana by Lilian Hess and The World Came Flooding In by Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine. Project teams that have previously received Hubert Bals Fund support are encouraged to contact CineMart directly for tailored guidance on how to apply. The 2026 edition aims to deliver a tightly curated selection of standout projects, offering a platform for artistic innovation and global collaboration at a critical stage of development.
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
I don't believe in the word comeback, but I'm thrilled to come back to where I belong: Shanthi Priya
Speaking about acting in a Tamil movie after three decades, Shanthi Priya says, 'Everyone is saying Bad Girl is my comeback movie, but I don't believe in the word comeback. I'm looking forward to the film, as it's been more than 30 years since I did a Tamil film." 'I want to let my work speak for itself. I've always been, and I want to continue being sincere, punctual, and disciplined, as that's all the film industry asks from us,' says actress Shanthi Priya. The actress, known to Tamil audiences as Nishanthi, is making her return to K-Town after 33 years with Varsha Bharath's Bad Girl, which won an award at at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2025. In a chat with us, the actress talks about her return, acting without makeup for the first time, social media, and more… 'CHARACTERS ARE WRITTEN BEAUTIFULLY THESE DAYS, AND I DON'T WANT TO MISS ANY Speaking about acting in a Tamil movie after three decades, Shanthi Priya says, 'Everyone is saying Bad Girl is my comeback movie, but I don't believe in the word comeback. I'm looking forward to the film, as it's been more than 30 years since I did a Tamil film. I'm thrilled to come back to where I belong. I've taken a long break. Characters are written beautifully these days, and I don't want to miss any. I know I can pull off diverse characters. ' 'I'M PROUD OF MY DECISION TO ACT WITHOUT MAKEUP' 'When a casting agency connected me with director Varsha Bharath, she asked for a picture of me, but without makeup. I sent her a picture, and since she had got what she was looking for, Varsha narrated the story and asked whether I would act without makeup. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Thị trường có dấu hiệu suy thoái không? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo I declined, but she told me to trust her, which I did,' says the actress about how she got the role in the film. She adds, 'Until Bad Girl , I'd never done a film without makeup. I'm proud and confident in the decision I've made. That's the confidence that Varsha has given me, and I'm thankful to her for it.' 'I DON'T WANT TO DO FILMS WHERE CHARACTER COMES AND GOES' Speaking about how she selects her roles, Shanthi says, 'For me, my screen time matters depending on the content of the story. I don't mind doing a project where my role leaves an impact even when I am on screen for only 30 minutes. But I don't want to do films where my character just comes and goes.' 'AS AN ARTISTE, I KNOW WHAT MY REQUIREMENTS ARE' Amidst debates about the industry not meeting an artiste's needs, Shanthi takes a different approach. She says, 'I'm totally a director's and a producer's artiste. I value them and their money. I don't ask for too much just because I can make those demands. As an artiste, I know what I need and what my requirements are, and I only ask for what is needed for an artiste.' 'I WOULD LOVE TO LIVE OUT OF A SUITCASE' Sharing with us about her rekindled enthusiasm, 'Earlier, there was no preparation, and actors only knew the film's story and their character. We used to get our scene paper on the spot, rehearse two or three times and then go for the take. Now, there is a lot of preparation. Earlier, we used to pack our bags and go from one set to another. Right now, I feel I have already taken a long vacation (her break from the big screen), and I would love to live out of a suitcase again. ' 'I feel that Shanthi has not done justice to Shanthi Priya' 'My real name, which my parents gave me, is Shanthi. When I got into this industry, I became Shanthi Priya. As Shanthi, I've fulfilled whatever my parents' wishes were. I've also done what I should do as a mother, daughter-in-law, and wife. But, somewhere, I feel that Shanthi has not done justice to Shanthi Priya. So, I'd love to do justice to the actress in me. That is one of the reasons I came back to the industry,' she says about the reason why she made her comeback.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Shiva: If someone wants to make a serious film with me, I'm game
'My race is with myself, and my ultimate aim is to entertain people,' says actor Shiva . In a chat with us, he shares about acting in Ram's Paranthu Po, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) earlier this year, about choosing serious roles, memes comparing him to Rohit Sharma , and more… 'I told Ram sir, 'I respect you, but let's not do a film together' Elaborating on his collaboration with Ram in Paranthu Po, the actor says, "Unlike others, I was scared when Ram sir approached me to share Paranthu Po's story. I told him, 'I have a lot of respect for you, but let's not do a film together because our genres are completely different.' His films are raw and a bit sad, while my films are the exact opposite. Later, when he narrated the film's story, I realised that it will be a feel-good film. ' Shiva says, with confidence, that he will reunite with Ram again. "He has discussed around 50 stories with me. We will work together on some of them in the future,' he says. 'I'm scared when I see memes comparing me with Rohit Sharma' Ask him about the memes that compare him with Rohit Sharma due to the similarities in their appearance, and Shiva states, "I'm scared when I see memes comparing me to Rohit Sharma. He is a great cricketer, and he has nothing to do with me. There are scenes of me playing cricket in my films, and when a real match happens, those scenes are taken and made into memes." 'We got a standing ovation in a packed theatre in Rotterdam' Shiva shares that he was extremely happy with the response that Paranthu Po received at the IFFR. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo He tells us, "It was my first time at a film festival. Paranthu Po was screened at a 650-seat theatre, one of the biggest in the fest, and all the seats were taken. Most people in the audience were non-Indians, and we got a standing ovation. It was due to Ram sir's goodwill." 'I wondered whether Kalakalappu would work, but it became a superhit' The actor opines that no one can predict how a film will turn out and says, 'No one does a film knowing that it will bomb. Pushkar & Gayatri's Va: Quarter Cutting (2010), a film I worked hard for, was not understood when it was released. On the other hand, I wondered whether Kalakalappu (2012) would work, but it became a superhit. Initially, I thought I could predict how a film would turn out, but I have realised there are various factors at play which determine how a film would do. ' 'Tamizh Padam 3 will happen very soon' The actor's biggest hit Tamizh Padam turns 15 this year, and Shiva tells us that there will surely be a third film in the franchise. He says, 'When I worked on Tamizh Padam, it felt like I was working on something new, like how it did with Chennai 600028. We did that film with the confidence that the audience will welcome new content. Tamizh Padam 3 will happen very soon." 'I 100% have plans to direct in the future' Shiva is all for doing serious films as long as they don't make the audience shed tears. "Usually, I get roles where I'm unemployed. A producer approaching me says, 'Let's do a film like Kalakalappu, Chennai 600028 or Tamizh Padam.' To do a serious film with me is a risk for the producer because, at the end of the day, this is a business. But if someone is ready to do it, then I'm game. I will make sure the film isn't too sad. People already face a lot of issues, so why make them cry when they come to the theatre? I do films for the audience,' he says. 'I grew up watching Kamal sir, so getting to see him act in Aalavandhan was a big deal for me' One of the actor's earliest film appearances was in Kamal Haasan's Aalavandhan (2001). Reminiscing about working in that film, he shares, 'I grew up watching Kamal sir, and on the set, I was watching him act in person. It was a big deal for me. I was scared of him back then, but I have spoken to him a lot since.' 'I don't say double-meaning dialogues' I don't say double-meaning dialogues. Right from Chennai 600028, I realised that it's OK if I make fun of myself, but I shouldn't hurt anyone else with my jokes.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘They first come for great acts of culture': Cate Blanchett sets up grant for displaced film-makers
Authoritarian regimes 'first come for great acts of culture' when they start to curtail civil liberties, Cate Blanchett warned as she launched a new grant for displaced film-makers. The two-time Oscar winner and goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), has teamed up with the international film festival Rotterdam's (IFFR) Hubert Bals Fund to set up the Displacement Film Fund, which will support displaced film-makers or those with experience in refugee storytelling. Its pilot version is bestowing a grant of €100,000 (£84,000) to five film-makers – Maryna Er Gorbach (Ukraine), Mo Harawe (Somalia, Austria), Hasan Kattan (Syria), Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran) and Shahrbanoo Sadat (Afghanistan) – whose short films will premiere at IFFR 2026. 'History has shown us that when authoritarian regimes start to curtail civil liberties, they first come for great acts of culture,' Blanchett told the Guardian on Friday. 'The metaphorical noses are always removed from statues. I think there's a cautionary tale to the way artists are silenced; it's often the thin end of a very thick wedge. And it's undeniable that this is happening globally now. Oppression comes in many forms, and it's touching all our lives to greater and lesser degrees.' In the US, Donald Trump has exerted control over which cultural pursuits the government backs, from taking the reins of the Kennedy Center to targeting 'improper ideology' at the Smithsonian Institution. In the UK, Arts Council England became mired in controversy last year when it warned that 'political statements' could break funding agreements after discussions with the government about artists speaking out over the Israel-Gaza war. A recent report by Freemuse said artistic freedom was more threatened globally than ever, citing a culture of 'censorship (including self-censorship), imprisonment, travel bans, misuse of defamation, harassment, blasphemy legislation, misuse of anti-terrorism legislation' and violence. Blanchett said the idea for a new fund was born after 'a group of us collected at the global refugee forum 18 months ago, and pledged to one another that we would find a way to highlight displaced perspectives and help them find a more mainstream audience'. It comes amid a global crisis, with 122.6 million people forcibly displaced owing to war, persecution or human rights abuses, according to the UN. This amounts to one in 67 people worldwide, with 71% of displacements occurring in low- and middle-income nations. 'Forced displacement around the world is one of the greatest challenges that we face as a species, yet it's often outside the mainstream cultural conversation. When I started working with UNHCR 10 years ago, the numbers of forcibly displaced people around the world were approaching 60 million. They're now over 120 and rising,' Blanchett said. 'I think it's very easy to be overwhelmed by those numbers and to disconnect from the individuals behind the numbers. Refugees are often stigmatised, demonised and ostracised. They are often used as political footballs. But during my travels with UNHCR, I've heard stories of resilience, and great humour, and have even found portals into my own experience. I found that I have much more in common with these people than the mainstream media would make me believe.' The Australian actor, who has appeared in dozens of critically acclaimed films, including Tár, Carol and Blue Jasmine – and who created the 2020 Australian series Stateless about unlawful detention in Australia – said it was important to find common themes in other people's stories and experiences. Film-making, she said, was a way to 'break down' the barriers between us. 'We're told that refugees are coming for our jobs or going to disrupt civil society. But in fact, these people have so much to offer. They're architects, lawyers, doctors, plumbers, they're people who are highly skilled, whose lives have been put on hold, but their humanity has not,' Blanchett said. Sign up to Film Weekly Take a front seat at the cinema with our weekly email filled with all the latest news and all the movie action that matters after newsletter promotion 'These issues get politicised overly quickly, so there was an urgency to reclaim a positive, constructive discourse around them.' Rasoulof fled Iran after the selection of his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig to take part in the main competition at Cannes last year. His new, untitled short is set after the death of an exiled writer as his family tries to fulfil his wish to be buried according to his will. The director said: 'When I first heard about this fund and its incentives, I felt comfort, seeing that there are people who have this care and concern for us. 'It reminded me of the very specific moment when I was fleeing my country, when I was a step away from crossing the border. I looked at my homeland for one last time, and thought about all the other people who had to leave their roots, their culture, behind, and fight for their freedom of expression.' Rasoulof said that, despite his experiences of 'captivity and interrogation', he didn't flee Iran for comfort or security. 'It's not about that. It's just about being able to go on working, being able to go on expressing myself. This is the case for many artists.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cate Blanchett, Afghan, Syrian Creators on Fund for Displaced Directors Backing 'Surprising Narratives'
Five filmmakers from Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Ukraine are the recipients of the inaugural Displacement Film Fund, a short film grant scheme recently unveiled by Cate Blanchett and the International Film Festival Rotterdam's (IFFR) Hubert Bals Fund, and the star was in Cannes on Friday to celebrate the recipients, who include Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof (The Seed of the Sacred Fig), and raise awareness. The recently unveiled fund is designed to 'champion and fund the work of displaced filmmakers, or filmmakers with a proven track record in creating authentic storytelling on the experiences of displaced people.' More from The Hollywood Reporter 'A Private Life' Review: A Delightfully Paired Jodie Foster and Daniel Auteuil Escape Injury in a Messy but Pleasurable Genre Collision Prince William Launches 'Guardians' Docuseries on Rangers on BBC Earth Digital Platforms Cannes: Hasan Hadi's 'The President's Cake' Wins Directors' Fortnight Audience Award Blanchett was joined for the Cannes event by IFFR managing director Clare Stewart, grant recipients Maryna Er Gorbach, the Ukrainian director known for Klondike, and Somali-Austrian filmmaker Mo Harawe (The Village Next to Paradise), along with Rajendra Roy, chief curator of film at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. 'It's a pilot program to allow a more mainstream audience access to the work of the five recipients of the grant,' Blanchett shared as she took time in between a busy Cannes schedule to talk to THR on Friday via Zoom. 'Part of being here in Cannes is a call to arms to the rest of the industry to help to find mainstream platforms to get these voices out, because it's potentially an incredibly exciting form of storytelling for a wider audience.' Joining Blanchett in the Zoom conversation were Stewart, Syrian filmmaker Hasan Kattan (Last Men in Aleppo) and Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat, who fled to Germany and whose debut film Wolf and Sheep won the top award in the 2016 Directors' Fortnight program at Cannes. The two filmmakers weren't in attendance at Cannes. 'We're doing short films with full production funding because of that urgency, that desire to get films out there, to make a profile for the need of the industry to galvanize around this,' explained Stewart, echoing the notion of the fund as 'a call to action.' She also highlighted that Roy's presence is key given his role as 'co-chair of the international award at the Oscars, and they have just made a change to the regulations there to support refugee and displaced filmmakers to be able to participate more fully in the awards process.' Sadat shared with THR insight into her grant-receiving project with the working title Female Fitness of Kabul and the experience of earnings the grant. 'Inside a crumbling Kabul gym, its walls covered with oiled muscle men and doors open to women for only a few hours each day,' reads a synopsis of her film. 'Afghan housewives in scarves and long dresses reclaim not just their bodies, but also their spirits, their bonds, and their sense of self.' When she found out about the grant, 'I was like, 'This is amazing. I'm the most perfect candidate',' she recalled. 'This is my life. I was born in Iran to an Afghan refugee family, and the very first ID card that I ever received was a refugee card. It means I was born a refugee, even if it doesn't make sense. Until I was 11, I was living in Iran, and I was always called 'Afghan,' which is more of an insult. And then when we moved to Afghanistan, I was called Iranian there. I never really felt like I was in the right place.' Then she evacuated with her family to Germany. 'I didn't even know about the word 'displacement',' she shared. 'I thought this more and less how everyone feels. Of course, I connected displacement to land, but also to gender. I also connect displacement to women issues, because it's kind of like double exile, being a woman in a society that you're not really accepted in.' How does that feel? 'The more you try, the more you get rejected. And you don't even feel at home under your own skin,' Sadat explained. 'I was thinking about this idea for a very long time, and then I thought this is the perfect platform for me to explore this idea through this gym in Kabul.' Her film features 'a group of housewives who are going there, and they do fitness. And they experience this in a little gym in Kabul with all these posters of men with exaggerated muscles and oily bodies, and these women trying to fit themselves in. I thought it would be interesting to also look at displacement from another point of view.' Meanwhile, Kattan discussed his project with the working title Allies in Exile, for which he earned a Displacement Film Fund grant. 'Two Syrian filmmakers, bound by a 14-year friendship forged in war, document their shared exile in the U.K. asylum system – until one is granted refuge and the other returns to a changed Syria, reflecting the impossible choices refugees face today,' reads a synopsis for the film. 'Last year was so difficult for me because I ended up here in the U.K. as an asylum seeker, and I was inside the asylum process, every day facing the system from inside and feeling the disappointment,' Kattan told THR. 'I started from the zero point again. And through this experience and the revolution in Syria, documenting everything, telling a story feels like it's the only way that we can scream or express our feelings.' He added: 'When I heard about and saw this grant and fund, I thought, 'Oh my God, this is really, really what I need.' Because I was having no hope to make this film, because finding money in this time and my situation – how do I express this? When you live this experience, you lose any hope around you. You start to feel hopeless. When I saw this grant, it was a big hope for me to bring light to this project, to this film, because I see it as helping me in my personal perspective and reflecting the situation of the asylum seeker.' Concluded Kattan: 'It's not just about fleeing war, it's not about the journey. It's about the daily struggle and the human struggle in daily life. I hope I can make this project, this film, [create] a wide conversation about asylum seekers and refugees.' Rasoulof was awarded his grant for a so far unnamed project with this plot description: 'After the death of an exiled writer, his family tries to fulfill his wish to be buried according to his will – but honoring his request leads to unexpected complications.' Harawe's project with the working title Whispers of a Burning Scent is pitched this way: 'On the day of a pivotal court hearing, a quiet man faces the unraveling of his marriage and the judgment of his stepchildren, while searching for solace in what once gave his life meaning.' Er Gorbach's Silk Road, also a working title, is described as 'a timely Ukraine–Europe road movie about a young Ukrainian woman whose family has been torn apart by war: while her children live in Europe, she and her husband remain in Kyiv, working in a children's hospital as the war goes on.' The Displacement Film Fund pilot program is offering grants of €100,000 ($104,000) each to the five displaced filmmakers to make original shorts. Blanchett headed up the selection committee, joined by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, documentarians Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Flee) and Waad Al-Kateab (For Sama), director Agnieszka Holland (Green Border), Rotterdam festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, activist and refugee Aisha Khurram, and Amin Nawabi [alias], the LGBTQ+ asylum seeker who was Rasmussen's inspiration for the Oscar-nominated Flee. 'The numbers of people outside their their country of origin around the world has just ballooned and continues to grow,' Blanchett told THR. 'I'm a global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, and when I started working with them 10 years ago, the numbers were around 60 million, and it's now over 120 million. And while people are displaced, they don't stop being mothers, brothers, uncles, cousins, nor do they stop being filmmakers and artists. And given that it's one of the great challenges that we're facing as a species, it's always bewildered me why these incredible stories, heartbreaking sometimes, yes, but inspiring and having more points of connection to people's lives who are not displaced, why they don't get told more frequently. So that was part of the DNA of the idea.' She lauded 'a real coalition of the willing' for making the fund happen quickly. The five short films will have their world premieres at IFFR next year but Blanchett and Stewart 'and others who are coalescing around the fund are also very committed to indeed [figuring out] what the lives of the films will be' beyond that, the Stewart said. 'That's what we are here to sort out,' Blanchett concluded. And the star highlighted that the stories told by displaced creatives will be able to surprise audiences. 'There are so many surprising narratives that emerge, often heartbreaking, but also full of resilience and transformation,' Blanchett said. 'Part of the DNA of the fund in its pilot stage is to sort of reject and challenge the stereotypes and the categorizations that swirl around the discourse about what it means to be displaced. These might be genre-driven or romantic or surprising stories that really speak to the breadth of that experience and entertain an audience. And then they happen to find out that the filmmaker is displaced or that there's much more connective tissue between their experience and their own.' Concluded Blanchett: 'It's a wonderful beginning, in that way, to really allow the audience to go through some sort of revelatory transformation as much as perhaps the filmmakers getting a chance to pick up the pieces of their amazing careers that they had to leave behind when they left their countries.' 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