IFF Rotterdam has appointed Marten Rabarts to the position of Head of IFFR Pro, effective immediately. Recently, Rabarts served as Festival Director at the New Zealand IFF. His extensive global career also has significant legacy in the Netherlands, both as Head of EYE International (now SeeNL)—where he was responsible for the promotion of Dutch film and film culture worldwide—and as Artistic Director of the ground-breaking development centre Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam. Rabarts will work closely with IFFR’s Festival Director, Vanja Kaludjercic, and Chief of Content, Melissa van der Schoor.
As Head of IFFR Pro, Rabarts will play a crucial role in building this sustainable programme, developing and implementing IFFR’s industry strategy, establishing new partnerships and delivering the festival’s industry programmes. IFFR will also feature an industry day dedicated to the Dutch film ecosystem. Another key focus for the upcoming edition is the Darkroom, IFFR Pro’s programme of work-in-progress screenings that takes place during CineMart. The projects presented are either supported by the Hubert Bals Fund or formerly presented at CineMart—bolstering support of projects across their lifecycle.
Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR, said: "Marten has an incredible track record in both developing and implementing industry programmes and in elevating Dutch film culture on the global stage—making him the ideal person to spearhead and revitalise our industry offering. His strategic, entrepreneurial and curatorial vision is unparalleled and we are very proud to have him joining the team. IFFR has a history of trailblazing in artistic selection but also through creating vital spaces for the industry to meet and collaborate—and we look forward to building on that in our upcoming edition together".
The 54th edition of IFFR will take place from 30 January–9 February 2025, with the IFFR Pro Days running between 31 January–5 February 2025.
Source/image: IFFR
