International Film Festival Rotterdam - Definition and Overview

The International Film Festival Rotterdam is one of the larger film festivals in Europe. It is held every year around the end of January in various film theaters in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The festival uses a tiger as its mascot.

The first festival -- then called 'Film International' -- was organized in June 1972 under the inspired leadership of Hubert Bals. From the beginning, the festival has profiled itself as a promotor of alternative, innovative and non-commercial films, with an emphasis on the Far East and developing countries. Despite financial difficulties in the mid-1980s, the festival has grown steadily, reaching 345,000 visitors in 2001.

After the festival founder's sudden death in 1988, a fund was initiated and named after him (Hubert Bals fund), used for supporting filmmakers from developing countries.

The non-competitive character of the festival changed in 1995, when the VPRO Tiger Awards were introduced -- three yearly prizes for young filmmakers making their first or second film. The next year, Simon Field, formerly related to the London Institute for Contemporary Art, became director of the festival.

External links

• International Film Festival Rotterdam (http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/)