The International Film Festival Rotterdam has finished for another year with the New Zealand contingent having racked up a number of successful screenings. The filmmakers also attended networking and professional development opportunities including a New Zealand/Australia dinner.
Congratulations to Fantail on its sell-out screenings and on Danish sales agent LevelK securing the world rights to the film. Writer/lead Sophie Henderson, director Curtis Vowell and producers Sarah Cook and Matt Noonan were in Rotterdam for the screenings and to answer audience questions about the film. Sarah Cook also took part in the Rotterdam Lab (with the support of Curious Films).
Like Fantail, Australian film Ruin also enjoyed strong audiences at the festival with New Zealand editor Simon Price in attendance.
We'd like to thank Sophie Henderson, Curtis Vowell, Sarah Cook and Simon Price for sharing some thoughts on their experience as below:
Sophie Henderson (writer/lead, Fantail)
“Watching my film with its first international audience was impossible not to love. The IFFR had the biggest screens I've ever seen and Fantail played to sold-out houses throughout the festival. I was delighted that audiences on the other side of the world connected with our very specific New Zealand story. They laughed in all the same places and gasped at the right moments. Even if they didn’t understand everything in the film, they felt something and if I can move even one person in an audience then I've done my job.
We had intellectual, thoughtful conversations with our audiences in the Q&As and I surprised myself with some of my answers, I feel like I got to know our film better and have a deeper understanding of where this story came from and why I had to tell it. I also got to try out the idea for my next film on audiences and filmmakers. I’ve now got a tonne of reference films to watch and it was exciting to chat with directors about in camera effects with puppetry and costume and how they would approach the concept of Manhunt. The films I watched at the Rotterdam festival were fearless and innovative, I feel full-up on films and inspired to take bigger risks in my writing and acting work.”
Curtis Vowell (director, Fantail)
“Sharing Fantail with a full audience inside Rotterdam’s IMAX cinema is an experience I’ll never forget! IFFR felt like a perfect fit for me because of the festival’s commitment to discovering and developing emerging directors. The films I watched were fresh and visceral and will influence my process as a filmmaker. We were treated extremely well by the IFFR staff and they set up a number of opportunities for us to meet other filmmakers and industry professionals. I had a great time representing New Zealand in Rotterdam and loved being able to share just a little bit of our country and culture with them. I’d jump at the chance to do it all again.
Attending the industry expert panels and being surrounded by an incredibly supportive and encouraging team of people, I learnt how to make the most of a festival. My experience at Rotterdam has set me up for all future festivals I get the chance to travel to.”
Sarah Cook (producer, Fantail)
"It’s been a terrific experience seeing the film with an international audience and I’m delighted that LevelK will be bringing Fantail to viewers around the world. Also, the opportunity to take part in CineMart and its Rotterdam Lab programme really gave me a window on to the art house drama market and I came away hugely inspired by the people I met and the possibilities ahead.”
Simon Price (editor, Ruin)
“Being able to take the pulse of contemporary international cinema and connect with such ease to other filmmakers attending International Film Festival Rotterdam 2014, has been a truly humbling and glorious experience for me this past week. Being able to showcase Ruin here, engage in official Q&A sessions about our film and get a feel for how a such a major festival and marketplace truly operates has been a steep rapid and exhilarating education. I return home exhausted, inspired and highly motivated to push my career in the industry towards further fresh collaborations and ideas and I thank the NZFC for their support and guidance in this very satisfying professional experience.”