IFF Rotterdam: New Head of HBF Appointed

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has appointed Tamara Tatishvili as the new Head of the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF), the festival’s global film fund. Tatishvili has extensive experience across many areas of the international film industry as a strategy consultant, leader, producer and programmer. Amongst a host of notable positions, Tatishvili worked for several years as Director of the Georgian National Film Center and is currently Head of Studies at MEDICI, a training and exchange forum for senior decision makers of international public film funds. She will take up the position heading the Hubert Bals Fund following the departure of its previous Head, Bianca Taal. Also comprising the HBF team are Manager Jeske van der Slikke who will shortly be taking maternity leave and Coordinator Ayumi Filippone, who takes over until March 2024 in Van der Slikke’s absence. 

Tamara Tatishvili, incoming Head of the HBF said: “I'm thrilled to start a new chapter in my career, building on the HBF's long-standing legacy of championing global storytellers who boldly push cinematic boundaries within challenging contexts and environments. Throughout my career, I've seen first-hand the profound impact of strategic funding in regions with limited resources and restricted creative freedoms. I’m looking forward to ensuring HBF continues to amplify the voices of filmmakers whilst sharpening its focus on supporting inclusive narratives that can captivate and provoke.” Vanja Kaludjercic, IFFR's Festival Director said: "We are delighted to announce that Tamara Tatishvili has been appointed as the new Head of the HBF. Her expertise will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in strengthening the HBF's position and driving its development in the years ahead."

Source/images: IFFR

London Film Festival 2023: Programme Launch

The 67th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) on Thursday announced the full programme line-up, which will be presented in cinemas and online, across the UK. Over twelve days from 4–15 October, the LFF will invite audiences to return to its flagship venues in the heart of London – BFI Southbank and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, which between them host Galas, Special Presentations and Official Competition. Films and Series from all strands of the Festival will screen in many of central London’s iconic cinemas with a curated selection of features also being showcased at 9 partner venues across the UK. The LFF will present a compelling and diverse programme of films, shorts, series and immersive works from 92 countries, featuring 79 languages playing across the 12 days of the festival. 

Every feature and series will screen to audiences in the UK for the very first time, with many shown publicly for the first time ever anywhere in the world. Premieres include 29 World Premieres (14 features, 2 series and 13 shorts), 7 International Premieres (6 features and 1 short) and 30 European Premieres (22 features, 1 series and 7 shorts). World Premieres from filmmakers and artists include: Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya’s THE KITCHEN which closes the festival, Daniel Kokotajlo’s STARVE ACRE (below), Theresa Ikoko’s GRIME KIDS from the Series strand, the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation restoration of Michael Powell’s 1960 masterpiece PEEPING TOM in association with STUDIOCANAL, and the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation’s restoration of Horace Ové’s pioneering 1975 debut PRESSURE.

International Premieres include SALTBURN, directed, produced and written by Emerald Fennell which opens the festival, as well as collaboration between Deepa Mehta and Sirat Taneja I AM SIRAT and THIS IS GOING TO BE BIG by Thomas Charles Hyland. Major European Premieres include ONE LIFE by James Hawes starring Anthony Hopkins, EXPATS directed by Lulu Wang starring Nicole Kidman, TOGETHER 99 by Lukas Moodyson and DEAR JASSI by Tarsem Singh. Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival Director, said: "In preparing this 2023 festival, my colleagues and I have been endlessly buoyed by the artistry, ideas and talented individuals and communities that have come into our orbit. It’s now time to share all this wonder and we can’t wait for audiences to experience it all this October here in London and across the UK with LFF on Tour and online at BFI Player.”

The LFF will invite audiences once again to its London hubs on the South Bank and in the West End, with both areas remaining at the heart of the BFI London Film Festival experience. Galas will screen at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on an 18-metre screen with full high-spec 7.1 channel surround sound, ensuring every seat in the over-2000-seater venue is the best in the house. Titles from the main programme will screen at a range of cinemas across the city from the BFI’s own South Bank Cinemas – BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX – to partner venues Vue West End, the Prince Charles Cinema, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Curzon Soho and Curzon Mayfair, each of them bringing audiences up close and personal with filmmaking talents from the UK and across the globe.

Source/images: BFI