Jimmie (Croatian co-producer – Sekvenca) has the honour of opening this year’s festival. The film is about four year-old Jimmie who, facing danger, leaves his home with his father. When they get separated along the way, the boy is adopted into a new family who join him in search of his father. The film is a Swedish-Austrian-Croatian co-production written and directed by Jesper Ganslandt. Most of the film was shot in Croatia. Croatian film professionals included in the making of this film are: co-producers Jure Pavlović and Bojan Kanjera (Sekvenca), art director Dubravko Đuran, and production manager Nataša Pršir. The film will screen in the Voices competition programme.

Also having its world premiere at the festival is the feature film An Incredibly Small Object – the first Taiwanese-Croatian co-production. Croatian professionals include: Zorana Meić (costume designer), Klara Mučibabić (art director), Igor Stiković (set designer), Filip Beatović (lighting), Tomislav Sutlar and Pavel Posavec (assistant cameramen), Marko Šprajc (first assistant director) and Silvija Bradica (make-up). The producers are Patrick Mao Huang and Siniša Juričić from Nukleus Film (NF is also the Croatian distributor). The film will screen in the Big Screen Competition. The film is about two completely different characters: and eight year-old girl from Taipei and a 33 year-old photographer from Amsterdam. The two have nothing in common. They are only bound by a photo of the girl taken by the young Dutch photographer. Their fragile connection is the focus of the story.

The feature documentary film Playing Men, directed by Matjaž Ivanišin, will screen out of competition in the Bright Future category. The film is a Croatian-Slovenian co-production, and the Croatian co-producers are Vanja Jambrović and Tibor Keser from Restart. Playing Men is an essayistic documentary about Mediterranean men who are observed through games and relationships between competitors. The film is structured as a travel diary through Southern Europe (Slovenia, Croatia, Italy and Turkey) and presents men both young and old who meet as their ancestors did – in order to play games. But during filming the director suddenly falls into a creative crisis and turns the camera on himself, thus turning the film into a playful homage to absurdity.

Also screening in the same section is the experimental short film Almost Nothing: So Continues the Night by Davor Sanvincenti. Last year, the film won the critics’ award at the 25 FPS Festival. The film examines the fragility of the body, film and memories. The film’s team also includes cinematographer Ivan Slipčević, producer Boris Greiner, while music is by Christian Fennesz and Nenad Sinkauz. The film’s sales agent is Zagreb’s Bonobostudio.

The IFFR is one of the largest and most influential film festivals which, besides attracting tens of thousands of visitors and professionals each year, sets future trends in film and highlights up-and-coming filmmakers. Due to its rich programme, large attendance and exceptionally developed industrial segment (CineMart film market), Rotterdam is a first class festival. For more information, please visit the IFFR official website.

Cover photos: scenes from Jimmie; An Impossible Small Object; Playing Men and Almost Nothing: So Continues the Night