Tiger, tiger, burning bright: A quick look at the IFFR

Now in its 45th edition, the 2016 IFFR will take place between 27 January and 7 February in theatres located across Rotterdam. This year’s programme is packed with over 227 feature films and 253 short films from 60 countries along with several workshops, classes, lectures and other events. The festival also offers discount tickets for students. Here are three films that might appeal to members of the TU Delft community:

The Sprawl (Propaganda About Propaganda) – The Netherlands

This documentary from the Dutch design and research studio Metahaven addresses the theory that the internet has done more harm than good for humanity. While everybody loves cat videos and Snapchat, the filmmakers contend that everything from social media to news websites is downright destructive. Along with electrifying visuals, the film features a futuristic soundtrack recorded by Berlin-based musician Kuedo.

Raiders: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made – United States

In the early 1980s, three teenagers in Mississippi embarked on a mission to film a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark with a camcorder. Their crazy project resulted in all sorts of hijinks that, decades later, drew the attention of director Steven Spielberg and led to their remake being screened in theatres across America. This documentary chronicles their efforts to complete the film as adults by recreating the one scene they couldn’t pull off when they were kids: Indiana Jones’ epic fistfight with a German soldier in front of a colossal fighter plane.

Stop Acting Now – The Netherlands

Director Mijke de Jong teamed up with actors from the Rotterdam Theatre collective Wunderbaum for this semi-fictional film that follows their attempts to ‘change the world radically’ with various innovative projects. One member of the group tries to open a Japanese-style ‘crying cafe’ while another designs an app for urban gardeners. Needless to say, their efforts yield some very mixed results.