The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has announced details of its Hivos Tiger Awards Competition for its 45th edition, which runs January 27th to February 7th, 2016. IFFR also announced the first film to compete for the award, the Irish/Dutch/German co-production History’s Future.
The film, from director and artist Fiona Tan, was co-written with film critic Jonathan Romney. It stars Irish actor and writer Mark O’Halloran (Adam & Paul) in the leading role, alongside Denis Lavant (Holy Motors), Johanna ter Steege (Spoorloos), and fellow Irishman Brian Gleeson (Standby).
History’s Future fuses fiction and documentary into a visual essay charting an amnesiac’s odyssey into regaining memory via a Europe in turmoil. By the time his journey ends, MP (O’Halloran) has learned to survive, newly armed with an understanding of how we live today.
History’s Future is produced by Cormac Fox for Irish based Vico Films, Floor Onrust for the Dutch based FamilyAffair Films, and Benny Drechsel for Germany’s RohFilm. It is financed with the assistance of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board, Netherlands Film Fund, Mondriaan Fund, Mitteldeutsche Medienforderung, Fonds 21, MEDIA, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Dommering Foundation, and the Ellipsis Foundation.
Previous editions of the competition have featured 15 films, each competing for three equal awards of €15,000. The 2016 competition will feature only 8 films, competing for one prize of €40,000. This prize is to be shared by director and producer. There will also be a special jury award worth €10,000 which will be presented to an “exceptional artistic achievement”.