During the IFFR Pro awards ceremony, held yesterday, 31 January, eight awards were handed out to outstanding projects presented at the 40th edition of CineMart, International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR’s) co-production market.

On this occasion, two Eurimages Co-production Development Awards were given out (each worth €20,000). The first went to the Italian-French co-production Heads or Tails? by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, staged by Ring Film with Shellac Sud. The jury, made up of Ilse Ronteltap, Mira Staleva and Konstantina Stavrianou, described the project as “a powerful love story that takes us into a world of magic and legends that we rarely see nowadays [...]. In a refreshing genre and with a strong vision, it’s an inspiring archetypal story that shows the emancipation of the woman in the wild man’s world – a story about violence, mystery, freedom, injustice and friendship. Given the creative team behind the project, we are confident that the film has the potential to be a successful international co-production and become a true audience favourite,” the statement continues.

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The second €20,000 award was bestowed upon Marina Stepanska’s Consider Vera, produced by Ukraine’s ESSE Production House. “Consider Vera is a strong story of three women dealing with their own powers in a repressed society. This award will enable the company to continue the development of the script and find co-production partners,” the jury statement reads.

Meanwhile, the Filmmore Post-production Award went to Redoubt, helmed by Sweden’s John Skoog, and staged by Plattform Produktion and BCD Films. The Amsterdam-based post-production service offered €7,500 worth of in-kind support. Jury members Annamaria Lodato, Patrick Mao Huang and Marcel Wijninga congratulated the project with the following accompanying statement: “This film, shot in black and white, has a strong visual look. The story about the reclusive Karl Goran, who builds his own fortress (for himself, but also his community), presents some interesting themes: about being an outsider, obsession, a will to survive in scary times and to deal with each other in a small, rural community. We liked the producer-director team and are very interested to see this project on a big screen.” The work also received the ArteKino International Award, sponsored by ARTE and worth €6,000.

Finally, the Wouter Barendrecht Award of €5,000 for the best project from an emerging filmmaker under the age of 35 and with no more than three features under their belt went to Alaa Eddine Aljem’s Eldorado (Morocco/France), a Le Moindre Geste and In Vivo Films presentation. The jury, made up of Ellis Driessen and Nelleke Driessen, admitted they felt “very much attracted to the absurdist and humoristic approach to an intense, distressing and upsetting subject [...]. After viewing the previous work, we are convinced that the combination of the story’s harsh reality and perhaps satirical humour will appeal to a wide audience. We are sure that the grant shall be well spent on further development,” they added.

Commenting on this year’s edition of the event, head of IFFR Pro Inke Van Loocke said: “The IFFR Pro awards ceremony represents a moment to celebrate not just these prizewinners, but also [the teams behind] each of the unique, daring projects who came from across the world to present their visions together with us here in Rotterdam. Following two online editions, gathering together industry attendees, decision makers, producers and filmmakers for CineMart’s 40th edition has proven the continued value of exchanging ideas and collaborating with a view to realising these irresistible projects. Absurd, satirical, brave and magical – congratulations to all of our award winners!”

Here is the full list of winners at the 40^th IFFR CineMart:

Eurimages Co-production Development Awards

Testa o croce? – Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis (Italy/France)
Producers: Ring Film, Shellac Sud

Consider Vera – Marina Stepanska (Ukraine)
Producer: ESSE Production House

Filmmore Post-production Award
Redoubt – John Skoog (Sweden)
Producers: Plattform Produktion, BCD Film

ArteKino International Award
Consider Vera – Marina Stepanska
Producer: ESSE Production House

Wouter Barendrecht Award
Eldorado – Alaa Eddine Aljem (Morocco/France)
Producers: Le Moindre Geste, In Vivo Films

VIPO Award
When the Kids Sing the Hits – Mina Djukic (Serbia/Montenegro)
Producers: Sense Production, Adriatic Western

4DR Studios Award
Anti-Muse – Baloji (Belgium)
Producers: Amok, Wrong Men

IFFR Pro Young Selectors Award
The Surrogate – Ali Jaberansari (Mexico/UK)
Producers: The Lift, Here & There Productions