07/01/2004 - Young European cinema is in the spotlight at the 33rd Rotterdam International Film Festival (January 21 - February 1): 10 films are competing for the VPRO Tiger Awards

There's a strong showing for young European cinema at the 33rd edition of the Rotterdam International Film Festival (January 21 - February 1, 2004), with 10 films competing for the Tiger Awards. The competition for first or second works, the VPRO Tiger Awards, was launched in 1995 at the Rotterdam Festival in a bid to discover new talent, and it soon became the mainstay of the event.

The 16 feature length films competing from around the world include many European works: Aaltra by Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern, hailed as being a new trend for Belgium cinema, Fyra Nyanser av Brunt (Four Shades of Brown) by Tomas Alfredson (Sweden), Somnambuul (Somnambulism) by Sulev Keedus (Estonia/Finland), Asshäk, geschichte aus der Sahara (Asshak, Tales from the Sahara) by Ulrike Koch (Switzerland/Germany), Unterwegs by Jan Krüger (Germany), Ballo a tre passi by Salvatore Mereu (Italy), Kako Ubiv Svetec (How I killed a saint) by Teona Strugar Mitevska (Macedonia), Grande Ecole by Robert Salis (France), Hymypoika (Young Gods) by J.P. Siili (Finland) and Ljeto u Zlatnoj Dolini (Summer in the Golden Valley) by Srdjan Vuletic (Bosnia-Herzegovina/France/Britain).

The world premiers at the event include Dias de Santiago by Josue Mendez (Peru), Peep TV Show by Yutaka Tsuchiya (Japan) and Bora Diya Pokuna (Scent of the Lotus Pond) by Satyajit Maitipe (Sri Lanka). The three prize winners will be announced during the award ceremony being held on January 30. The prizes, assigned by an international jury, are worth €10,000 each, with the winning films also being guaranteed a screening on Dutch TV.

(Translated from French)