With the Rotterdam Film Festival beggining recently on January 30th, it plans to conclude on Febuary 9th. The festival is known for targeting filmmakers and their works out of mainstream attention where the parts of their countries of origin’s film industries are next to non-existant.

Some of the lineups from this week’s festival include: Enkop directed by Angel Wanjiku which is a neo-western set in Kenya; Something Strange Happened To Me directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuck which details grief from the current Ukranian war; and Black is Blue directed by Cheryl Dunye which concerns itself with a dystopian near future about trans identities.

Marten Rabarts is New Zealand film producer who is head of IFFR Pro which is a program at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. The program supports and encourages networking and project management among emerging filmmakers and film industry workers. Rabarts recently is quoted by stating,

“One of the things to recognize is that Rotterdam created the original co-production market. It’s the OG of co-production markets, which has been replicated around the world, often with the support of Rotterdam.”

Rabarts was also interviewed further elaborating on the purpose and artistic approach to IFFR Pro as follows,

“Rotterdam has always been known for its support of urgent, compelling, and artistically impecable cinema. In these times, it feels more important than ever to stand strong in our roots and continue supporting filmmakers who have extraordinary stories to tell. The work we do is about both the art and the urgency of the stories, and we are commited to providing a platform for these voices.”

For the full interview with Marten Rabarts at HollywoodReporter.com: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/rotterdam-industry-head-marten-rabarts-talks-iffr-pro-2025-1236124909/