This year, the International Film Festival Rotterdam started with the fairly inoffensive comedy-drama Head South (reviewed here), and it closed with an equally inoffensive film: M. Raihan Halim's Singaporean small-town comedy La Luna. In it, we see the daily life in Malaysian Kampong Bras Basah, a small village with its own set of religious rules as dictated by the stern town elder Tok Hassan. Jokes are not allowed in serious conversation, playing modern music too loud in your car gets you a fine, and a team of devout men diligently put black paint on all offensive images on the covers of books, newspapers and magazines. Then, change arrives in the form of Hanie, a woman who has inherited a house at the edge of the...
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- 2/23/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) made an impassioned opening-night speech that broached how film festivals can make space for emotional and complex conversations about geo-politics, ahead of the gala screening of Jonathan Ogilvie’s New Zealand comedy drama Head South.
“The Israeli invasion of Gaza has joined headlines of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and become the cause of heated and often incandescent and immovable opinions, with furious expression of convictions, hurled with vitriol on social media and in the pages of quality newspapers alike,” said Kaludjercic.
“Whether it’s this or that. Choose.
“The Israeli invasion of Gaza has joined headlines of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and become the cause of heated and often incandescent and immovable opinions, with furious expression of convictions, hurled with vitriol on social media and in the pages of quality newspapers alike,” said Kaludjercic.
“Whether it’s this or that. Choose.
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Joining a long line of filmmakers who’ve fictionalized their comings-of-age in one regional punk scene or another, veteran New Zealand writer-director Jonathan Ogilvie turns the clock back to 1979 Christchurch in “Head South.” Its protagonist is the classic shy but would-be rebellious teen boy dared into starting his own band, whose first gig naturally provides an underdogs-triumphant climax. Pleasant but awfully thin, feeling like a short insufficiently fleshed out to feature length, this modest nostalgic exercise provides a lightweight opener to this year’s Rotterdam fest.
Angus (Ed Oxenbould) is a high-schooler intrigued by new U.K. sounds as yet little-heard hereabouts —though he can barely summon the courage to enter Middle Earth Records, where proprietor Fraser (Jackson Bliss) is the obvious go-to source for such breaking intel. Even more intimidatingly cool is mysterious Holly (Roxie Mohebbi), a Debbie Harry-esque bottle-blonde bombshell who claims to be from London. Amongst his own,...
Angus (Ed Oxenbould) is a high-schooler intrigued by new U.K. sounds as yet little-heard hereabouts —though he can barely summon the courage to enter Middle Earth Records, where proprietor Fraser (Jackson Bliss) is the obvious go-to source for such breaking intel. Even more intimidatingly cool is mysterious Holly (Roxie Mohebbi), a Debbie Harry-esque bottle-blonde bombshell who claims to be from London. Amongst his own,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, taking place between Jan. 25 – Feb. 4, will be the first for Clare Stewart as managing director. Functioning under a dual leadership structure where the managing director and festival director oversee the commercial and creative elements of the organization respectively, IFFR appointed Stewart back in June 2023 to focus on the festival’s business side.
Speaking to Variety ahead of the festival and joined by festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, the former director of the Sydney Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival emphasized it feels like a “full circle moment” to be back in Rotterdam after first attending IFFR over 20 years ago as her first international film event outside of her home country of Australia.
“It’s also interesting to be coming in as the managing director, having previously held roles that either combined the two or were more of a creative director role,...
Speaking to Variety ahead of the festival and joined by festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, the former director of the Sydney Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival emphasized it feels like a “full circle moment” to be back in Rotterdam after first attending IFFR over 20 years ago as her first international film event outside of her home country of Australia.
“It’s also interesting to be coming in as the managing director, having previously held roles that either combined the two or were more of a creative director role,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
“Head South” director Jonathan Ogilvie is all about underdogs.
“It’s not a story about winners. It’s a story about also-rans, to use this racing term, because there is nothing to win,” he tells Variety about the International Film Festival Rotterdam opener, which sees schoolboy Angus (Ed Oxenbould) falling for a girl and for post-punk music in 1979’s New Zealand.
“There wasn’t a real music industry, so you couldn’t become a rock star. Back in those days, we often talked about ‘the tyranny of distance.’ We felt so removed from everything. But it was the triumph of distance, because it allowed people to interpret things in a new way. It’s a film about music, yes, but also about art and creative expression.”
Praising Oxenbould, he adds: “On the page, Angus could seem like a nasty little brat. But Ed was also in a band; his brother was also living in London.
“It’s not a story about winners. It’s a story about also-rans, to use this racing term, because there is nothing to win,” he tells Variety about the International Film Festival Rotterdam opener, which sees schoolboy Angus (Ed Oxenbould) falling for a girl and for post-punk music in 1979’s New Zealand.
“There wasn’t a real music industry, so you couldn’t become a rock star. Back in those days, we often talked about ‘the tyranny of distance.’ We felt so removed from everything. But it was the triumph of distance, because it allowed people to interpret things in a new way. It’s a film about music, yes, but also about art and creative expression.”
Praising Oxenbould, he adds: “On the page, Angus could seem like a nasty little brat. But Ed was also in a band; his brother was also living in London.
- 1/23/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Sandra Hüller Set For Rotterdam Talks Program
Awards season frontrunner Sandra Hüller has joined the roster of speakers lined up for the talks program of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. She joins 16 previously announced talks guests who also include L.A. Rebellion filmmaker Billy Woodberry, veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio, animation maestro Bill Plympton, French director Anne Fontaine and avant-garde German director Alexander Kluge, who continues to blaze a trail at the age of 91 with his new AI work Cosmic Miniatures. As previously announced, IFFR opens with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South and 14 titles are in the running for its top Tiger award.
Bavaria Fiction Restructures Development Team
Germany’s Bavaria Fiction is rejigging its development team with Thomas Kren placed in charge. Work has begun to restructure the unit, with Kren expanding his existing role to “accelerate and coordinate...
Awards season frontrunner Sandra Hüller has joined the roster of speakers lined up for the talks program of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. She joins 16 previously announced talks guests who also include L.A. Rebellion filmmaker Billy Woodberry, veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio, animation maestro Bill Plympton, French director Anne Fontaine and avant-garde German director Alexander Kluge, who continues to blaze a trail at the age of 91 with his new AI work Cosmic Miniatures. As previously announced, IFFR opens with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South and 14 titles are in the running for its top Tiger award.
Bavaria Fiction Restructures Development Team
Germany’s Bavaria Fiction is rejigging its development team with Thomas Kren placed in charge. Work has begun to restructure the unit, with Kren expanding his existing role to “accelerate and coordinate...
- 1/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow, Jesse Whittock and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
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,...
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,...
- 12/18/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Head South.International Film Festival Rotterdam have announced the lineup for their 53rd edition, which will take place between January 25 to February 4. Opening FILMHead South (Jonathan Ogilvie)The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire.Tiger COMPETITIONThe Ballad of Suzanne Césaire (Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich)Flathead (Jaydon Martin)Grey Bees (Dmytro Moiseiev)Kiss Wagon (Midhun Murali)Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others (Farshad Hashemi)MosesLa Parra (Alberto Gracia)Praia Formosa (Julia De Simone)Rei (Tanaka Toshihiko)Reise der Schatten (Yves Netzhammer)She Fell to Earth (Susie Au)sr (Lea Hartlaub)Swimming Home (Justin Anderson)Under a Blue Sun (Daniel Mann)Milk Teeth.Big Screen COMPETITIONAire: Just Breathe (Leticia Tonos Paniagua)Children of War and Peace (Ville Suhonen)Confidenza (Daniele Luchetti)Eternal (Ulaa Salim)Milk Teeth (Sophia Bösch)The Old Bachelor (Oktay Baraheni)Portrait of a Certain Orient (Marcelo Gomes)Seven Seas Seven Hills (Ram)Steppenwolf (Adilkhan Yerzhanov)TenementThe Worst Man in London (Rodrigo Areias...
- 12/18/2023
- MUBI
Rotterdam Film Festival Sets ‘Head South’ As Opening Film
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
- 11/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk coming-of-age comedy “Head South” will open the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam on Jan. 25, with the festival running until Feb. 4.
Ogilvie’s semi-autobiographical film is set in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1979 where a private schoolboy becomes desperately enamored with all things post-punk. The director’s last film, thriller “Lone Wolf,” screened in the festival’s Big Screen competition section in 2021.
Vanja Kaludjercic, IFFR festival director, said: “With ‘Head South,’ Jonathan Ogilvie returns to the festival with an unpredictable coming-of-age story that delights in its shifting tone. Quirkiness and nostalgia become sober and thoughtful, only to turn exuberant and then something else again, in a fitting tribute to post-punk subculture. Ogilvie is the kind of filmmaker we cherish at IFFR: those for whom the art is, above all, an adventure of discovery.”
Other films to have their world premieres at the Dutch festival include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla...
Ogilvie’s semi-autobiographical film is set in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1979 where a private schoolboy becomes desperately enamored with all things post-punk. The director’s last film, thriller “Lone Wolf,” screened in the festival’s Big Screen competition section in 2021.
Vanja Kaludjercic, IFFR festival director, said: “With ‘Head South,’ Jonathan Ogilvie returns to the festival with an unpredictable coming-of-age story that delights in its shifting tone. Quirkiness and nostalgia become sober and thoughtful, only to turn exuberant and then something else again, in a fitting tribute to post-punk subculture. Ogilvie is the kind of filmmaker we cherish at IFFR: those for whom the art is, above all, an adventure of discovery.”
Other films to have their world premieres at the Dutch festival include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla...
- 11/23/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
IFFR will run from January 25 to February 4.
The 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will open with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk coming-of-age comedy Head South on January 25.
New Zealand director Ogilvie returns to IFFR with Head South, a semi-autobiographical film that centres a private schoolboy who becomes desperately enamoured with all things post-punk in 1979 Christchurch. Ogilvie’s last film Lone Wolf screened in the festival’s Big Screen Competition in 2021.
The festival has also confirmed some of the first titles to play in its programme, along with details about industry event IFFR Pro Days.
Ishan Shukla’s dystopian sci-fi animation Schirkoa:...
The 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will open with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk coming-of-age comedy Head South on January 25.
New Zealand director Ogilvie returns to IFFR with Head South, a semi-autobiographical film that centres a private schoolboy who becomes desperately enamoured with all things post-punk in 1979 Christchurch. Ogilvie’s last film Lone Wolf screened in the festival’s Big Screen Competition in 2021.
The festival has also confirmed some of the first titles to play in its programme, along with details about industry event IFFR Pro Days.
Ishan Shukla’s dystopian sci-fi animation Schirkoa:...
- 11/23/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
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