[spectre] IFFR Rotterdam 'What (is) Cinema?'

[Andreas Broeckmann]

'What (is) Cinema?'

With this year's 'What (is) Cinema?' special programme, the International Fi=
lm
=46estival Rotterdam calls for reflection on key aspects of the current=
 state of
cinema, seen from the Rotterdam festival perspective.

exhibition - debate - screenings
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/


The subjects of the debates from Friday January 25th - Friday February 1st
will
be:


The happy end of cinema
What goes lost and what is kept in the current developments of the medium, t=
he
industry and the art of cinema? How does the past reflect itself in thoughts
about the future?


Cinema and the seven arts
Many contemporary artists emulate the practice of a filmmaker in their galle=
ry
work. Filmmakers sometimes seek refuge in the art circuit or simply want to
expand their vision with different techniques. Innovation or a simply
tradition?


Digital realities
A few years ago their was talk of a digital new wave. To what degree has the
digital camera now effectively altered the perception of the maker, the
approach to filmmaking, the approach to reality and the notion of stylisatio=
n?


Political agendas
Ever since it=92s conception this festival cultivates the 'politique des
auteurs=92, although not always with equal stress on both terms. Connecting =
with
the other special programme The Desert of the Real this debate explores what
has happened to political filmmaking and what is the current practice?


Global exchange
Migration has become more and more a normalized way of life. Cultural exchan=
ge
and economic co-production (notably by the Hubert Bals Fund) very often resu=
lt
in a new blend of filmmaking that can no longer be related to one country
alone.


Multi-visions
Television is no longer the enemy of cinema. It can keep the cinephile cultu=
re
alive in its programming, it provides filmmakers substantial or even exclusi=
ve
funding, it offers a very different target audience for their art, and offer=
s
new creative possibilities. To what degree can this still intensify in the
near
future?


The Eastern Parade
=46or more than a decade Asian cinema has been setting the trend in art-hous=
e
and
now even Hollywood hit lists. But how well informed is our appreciation of
this
exotic film culture. How have the cinemas of Taiwan, Korea and Japan
differentiated  themselves recently?


Looking for the Author
At the centre of cinephile culture, the film-maker/director is still the her=
o
who controls every aspect of his or her art and creates an oeuvre out of
individual productions. Nowadays fully fledged auteurs can emerge in all the
different regions of the planet. And how does the idiosyncratic filmmaker
adapt
to the evolution in technology and distribution?


Programme might be subject to change