35th International Film Festival Rotterdam
January 25 – February 5, 2006


• Hubert Bals Fund supported films in Venice and Toronto Festivals
• CineMart Project LES AMANTS RÉGULIERS in Venice Competition

Within their various programme sections the Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian film festivals have selected many new films supported by
Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Philippe Garrel’s LES AMANTS RÉGULIERS, presented at CineMart
2004, is selected for Venezia 62 In Competition. Ali Mohammad Ghasemi’s extraordinary début WRITING ON THE EARTH, supported by the Hubert Bals
Fund, is presented in the Critics Week, Rashid Masharawi’s WAITING will be shown in the Venice Days. A full list follows below.

The Toronto festival presents the world premieres of SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS by Bohdan Sláma, (winner of a Tiger Award in 2002 for WILD
BEES), Zhang Yang’s SUNFLOWER, and THE BETRAYAL by Philippe Faucon, all three CineMart Projects. Already honoured with the FIPRESCI Prize in
Locarno, Hubert Bals Fund supported A PERFECT DAY by Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige also turns up in the Toronto programme.

Congratulating all involved with the selection of their films, Rotterdam festival director Sandra den Hamer adds: “The combined platforms of our
festival, Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart continue to focus on talented and innovative filmmakers. We are proud to see their films selected for
Cannes, Venice, Toronto, San Sebastian and many other festivals. Already, hundreds of new and promising projects are being sent to us for
consideration. I am looking forward to present our latest harvest and selection in Rotterdam next year.”

Europe’s acknowledged showcase for independent cinema, the International Film Festival Rotterdam combines the presentation and active support of
adventurous and creative film-making. The festival sections include the Tiger Awards Competition, Filmmakers in Focus, extensive sections of
recent fiction and documentary features and short films as well as special thematic sidebars, Exploding Cinema, the What (is)
Cinema-debates and cutting edge film-related exhibitions. Each year, the festival attracts a large and dedicated audience and almost 3,000
international guests among which around 350 filmmakers. IFFR 2006 entry deadlines are October 1 (short films and documentaries) and November 1
(fiction features).

IFFR’s CineMart, the world’s first and largest international
co-production market, invites a select number of directors and producers
to present their latest projects to potential co-producers, TV-networks,
distributors, financiers, sales agents and funding bodies. The 23rd
CineMart will take place next January 29 – February 2 as part of the
35th IFFR (January 25 – February 5, 2006). The 2005 CineMart project
entry deadline is October 1, 2005.

Since its foundation by IFFR in 1989, the Hubert Bals Fund has given
financial support to over 500 feature film projects of talented
independent filmmakers in southern or developing countries. HBF
supported films that earned worldwide acclaim were, among others, JAPÓN
by Carlos Reygadas, DIVINE INTERVENTION by Elia Suleiman, UZAK (DISTANT)
by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, KHAMOSH PANI (SILENT WATERS) by Sabiha Sumar, GORI
VATRA (FUSE) by Pjer Zalica, DÍAS DE SANTIAGO (DAYS OF SANTIAGO) by
Josué Mendez. Hubert Bals Fund application deadlines are March 1 and
August 1.


Festival website: www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com


LIST OF TITLES


A. Hubert Bals Fund supported films and/or former CineMart projects
within the programme of
62nd Venice Film Festival, August 31 - September 10, 2005:

Venezia 62. In Competition:

LES AMANTS RÉGULIERS by Philippe Garrel
France/Italy, 2005
CineMart Project 2004


Giornate degli Autore/Venice Days:

ATTENTE (WAITING) by Rashid Masharawi
France/Palestine, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund


Settimana internazionale della critica/International Critics Week:

YADASHT BAR ZAMIN (WRITING ON THE EARTH) BY Ali Mohammad Ghasemi
Iran, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

B. Hubert Bals Fund supported films and/or former CineMart projects
within the programme of
30th Toronto International Film Festival, September 8-17, 2005:

Contemporary World Cinema:

BATALLA IN EL CIELO (BATTLE IN HEAVEN) by Carlos Reygadas
Mexico, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

PARADISE NOW by Hany Abu-Assad
The Netherlands/France/Germany/Israel, 2005
CineMart Project 2001

STESTI (SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS) by Bohdan Sláma
Czech Republic, 2005
CineMart Project 2003

XIANG ER KUI (SUNFLOWER) by Zhang Yang
China, 2004
CineMart Project 2003


Discovery:

BENARES by Barlen Pyamootoo
France/Mauritius, 2005
CineMart Project 2004

NAOUSSÉ (A PERFECT DAY) by Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige
Lebanon/France, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund


Special Presentations:

3 NEEDLES by Thom Fitzgerald
Canada, 2005
CineMart Project 2004

LES AMANTS RÉGULIERS by Philippe Garrel
France, 2005
CineMart Project 2004


Visions:

ATTENTE (WAITING) by Rashid Masharawi
France/Palestine, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

THE FORSAKEN LAND by Vimukthi Jayasundara
Sri Lanka, 2004
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund
CineMart Project 2004

MONOBLOC by Luis Ortega
Argentina, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

LA TRAHISON (THE BETRAYAL) by Philippe Faucon
France, 2005
CineMart Project 2004




C. Hubert Bals Fund supported films and/or former CineMart projects
within the programme of
53rd San Sebastian International Film Festival, September 15-24, 2005


Competition:

STESTI (SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS) by Bohdan Sláma
Czech Republic, 2005
CineMart Project 2003

XIANG ER KUI (SUNFLOWER) by Zhang Yang
China, 2004
CineMart Project 2003


Zabaltegi-New Directors:

LOS SUICIDAS (SUICIDALS) by Juan Villegas
Argentina, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund


Zabaltegi – Festival’s Top:

BATALLA IN EL CIELO (BATTLE IN HEAVEN) by Carlos Reygadas
Mexico, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW by Miranda July
USA, 2005
CineMart Project 2004

PARADISE NOW by Hany Abu-Assad
The Netherlands/France/Germany/Israel, 2005
CineMart Project 2001


Horizontes Latinos Competition:

CINEMA, ASPIRINAS E URUBUS (CINEMA, ASPIRIN AND VULTURES) by Marcelo Gomes
Brazil, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

MONOBLOC by Luis Ortega
Argentina, 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

LA SAGRADA FAMILIA (THE SACRED FAMILY) by Sebastián Campos
Chile, 2004
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund

SANGRE by Amat Escalante
Mexico, 2005
CineMart Project 2005
Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund