Peter Van Hoof Head Programmer of Short Films at International Rotterdam Film Festival

There are 21 films in the Tiger Short Competition and with the Spectrum Section 196 are screened. It is a large selection…

The size of the programme has a lot do to with the fact that there hasn’t been another short film festival in Holland for a long time. Almost every country has at least one ‘old’ short film festival, but not us! IFFR has undertaken that role of hosting shorts since the early years and its inclusion has been very important to us.

Many short film festivals accept films only up to 30 minutes, however in Rotterdam we get to see works of various lengths, which is refreshing. How daring is this choice from a programmer’s perspective?

Well, we never make a distinction between long and short films. What we care about is quality. We don’t mind showcasing a film as part of an installation or even a six-hour piece. As long as we can find a way to present it, this is a good enough reason for us. It is also a matter of challenging an audience and introducing works that one normally doesn’t get around to.

The Tiger Short Competition showcases art-house and experimental shorts in its majority, instead of the more traditionally narrative ones. What is the idea behind this?

The festival has always been a platform for experimentation, inviting the work of auteurs and encouraging artistic freedom, therefore there is an inherent inclination towards the genre. By the same token, IFFR almost overlaps with Clermont-Ferrand and since for them the emphasis lies on narrative films, I do not see the point why we should compete. It is true that most film festivals prefer to screen narrative shorts due to their better economical value, but we like to take a different route. Apart from emerging talents, we are also interested in artists who have been making films their entire life regardless of length limitations (that opt to a marketable future). For us it is important to make room for those filmmakers that have no commercial plan, but artistic determination. After all, our films are not only addressed to cinephiles, but also curators, programmers and a variety of cultural organisations.

The Tiger Award for Shorts was recently introduced. How difficult is it to maintain prizes for short film, when the cultural sector is being axed and film festivals are struggling to survive?

Seven years ago we had a discussion about this and we were convinced that we were ready to introduce the concept, as we really wanted to help short filmmakers to find financing for their next work. We figured that if they gain a title from us they would have more chances to be noticed. Regarding the economical crisis, it does very much exist and things have been difficult especially in Holland, because of our government cutting the cultural budget in half. We have been lucky with our festival though, as being under the IFFR umbrella means that we can benefit from its resources and not depend on a single sponsor per se.

How often do you look outside submissions when programming?

Of course we have to attend other festivals and see what is out there, but what we don’t want to do is just pick the highlights. Our line is to focus on submissions and original work. My team consists of six programmers: the way we work is that each is being allocated a region. It is then easier to build relationships with filmmakers and gain a deeper insight in works coming from specific countries.

Can you speak about your career trajectory leading up to the role of the Short Film Programmer at IFFR? Is it the best job in the world?

Yes, it is! But let’s not forget the massive amounts of work it requires…I have to say, I was lucky enough to be born in times where I was able to start up a squat cinema in Amsterdam and run it for ten years without having to worry about money. In the 80s, the cinematic culture was stagnant so we decided with a group of friends to distribute films not shown in Holland. When we organised a Turkish cycle, we had to find a more respectable venue to welcome the filmmakers attending. That place was De Balie, an independent cinema and political cultural center. This screening paved the way for my collaboration with De Baile, where I was given the freedom to curate experimental and political cinema - the two enemies of programming! Until one day, the Director of IFFR phoned me asking to oversee the short film section… and here I am!