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M. Raihan Halim’s “La Luna” will close the 53rd edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam, which has also revealed the lineup of its Tiger competition section, a platform for up-and-coming filmmakers, and Big Screen Competition, a program for more established talent.

“La Luna,” which has its European premiere at the festival, is a comedy about a conservative Malaysian village shaken by the arrival of a lingerie store.

Among the Tiger competition films is British director Justin Anderson’s “Swimming Home,” starring Mackenzie Davis, Christopher Abbott and Ariane Labed. Adapted from Deborah Levy’s novel, it centers on Joe and Isabel, whose marriage is dying when Kitti, a naked stranger found floating in the pool at their holiday villa, is invited to stay. Kitti collects and eats poisonous plants, and Nina their teenage daughter is enthralled by her. The film, which is being sold by Bankside Films, is described as...

International Film Festival Rotterdam has revealed its lineup for the Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competitions. The festival runs from January 25-February 4. Scroll down for the full lists.

Head South by Jonathan Ogilvie will open the proceedings with M. Raihan Halim’s comedy La Luna on closing duties. The Tiger Competition jury will be comprised of Marco Müller, Ena Sendijarević, Nadia Turincev, Herman Yau and Billy Woodberry.

Also confirmed are the first names for the Talks lineup including Marco Bellocchio, Anne Fontaine, Alexander Kluge and Rachel Maclean.

Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic said today, “For over half a century, IFFR has stood as a haven for diverse voices – a convergence where artists share perspectives. Our program celebrates the resilience and creativity of global filmmakers, a testament to cinema’s power to transcend borders. From Indian to Japanese epics, a Kazakh thriller, Finnish Freudian reinterpretations, Dominican sci-fi and underground Iranian cinema,...

‘Swimming Home’ is directed by Justin Anderson and stars Mackenzie Davies, Christopher Abbott and Ariane Labed.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the Tiger and Big Screen programmes for the 3rd edition, taking place January 25 – February 4, 2024 in the Netherlands.

Justin Anderson’s Swimming Home, starring Mackenzie Davies, Christopher Abbott and Ariane Labed, is among the titles world premiering in the Tiger Competition.

Scroll down for full line-up

The drama is adapted from Deborah Levy’s novel about a woman who implores the help of a naked stranger found floating in her pool. It is produced by Emily Morgan’s UK outfit Quiddity Films,...

The Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) today unveils the lineup for its 19th edition (HAF19), with 29 projects from established Asian directors and producers such as Hur Jin-Ho, Kawase Naomi, Ning Hao, Ogigami Naoko, Wang Bing, Yee Chih-Yen, emerging filmmakers like Cai Chengjie, Oliver Chan, Roya Sadat, Yang Mingming, as well as nine first-feature directors.

Returning to its regular March slot, HAF19 will run concurrently with the 25th Hong Kong Filmart (Filmart) from 15 to 17 March. It will again take place online following Haf’s first-ever virtual edition held in August 2020.

“Despite the challenging circumstances brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, Haf remains strongly committed to filmmakers,” Haf director Jacob Wong said. “We will have our dedicated online meeting platform this year for accredited Haf and Filmart participants to schedule and conduct meetings directly. It’s hassle-free and user-friendly, requiring no download or additional log-on.”

HAF19 selected the 29 projects, including nine documentaries,...

Twenty-nine projects from across Asia have been selected to take part in March’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), which will go virtual for the second time.

Scheduled to take place March 15-17, 2021, Haf will run concurrently with the Hong Kong FilMart. Both events were postponed last year to August due to the pandemic and eventually migrated online.

They will return to their usual March slot this year in tweaked virtual format. A new online meeting platform “requiring no download or additional log-on” will be set up for participants this year, said Haf director Jacob Wong.

The 29 shortlisted projects, including nine documentaries, were selected from 321 submissions from 80 countries and regions, Haf said on Monday.

Shortlisted projects include those to be directed by established filmmakers as well as emerging talent. The strongest presences are from Hong Kong, mainland China and India.

Two of the eight mainland Chinese projects are produced...

There’s nothing quite like waking up bright and early to a some outrageous cinematic silliness. If you’re missing a little goofiness in your diet this morning, then take a quick peek at the teaser trailer for directors Jeffrey Lau and Susie Au’s “East Meets West 2011″. The upcoming superhero endeavor, which stars Karen Mok, Eason Chan, Alex Fong, Stephy Tang, Ekin Cheng, and Jaycee Chan, doesn’t look like it takes itself too seriously. Which is good, really, because the flick looks mind-numbingly stupid. In a good way, of course. Best to clear that up now. Need a plot synopsis? Good. You’re getting one: Ten thousand years ago eight gods fought incessantly, not realizing that by doing so they were securing their own demotion into the secular world. They can only return to heaven once they come to understand one another and can get along with each other harmoniously.

Joe Ma’s Sasori is a film that comes with all sorts of expectations and baggage attached being, as it is, not only a restart but also something of a re-envisioning of the classic 1970’s Japanese exploitation series Female Convict Scorpion 701. It should come as no surprise then that reactions to the film have been sharply polarized, that this is a film that people either love or hate, but what is a bit surprising is why. It’s not that the film has in any way toned down the exploitation elements, those are there in spades. It’s not the fusion of Hong Kong and Japanese influences, that was expected with the film coming out of the ongoing partnership between Hong Kong’s Sameway and Japan’s Art Port and it falls in nicely with the bleak, hard edged 1980’s aesthetic already established in Shamo and Dog Bite Dog. No,...