Anna Does Rotterdam - International Film Festival Rotterdam, January 24 - February 4

I have press accreditation for the International Film Festival Rotterdam through Toronto's CIUT 89.5 FM, so I spent the the duration of the Festival frantically running around Rotterdam from film to film. I even got to do some sight seeing along the way. So get ready for it. ANNA DOES ROTTERDAM!!!


Rotterdam's famous Swan Bridge












Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands and the industrial capital of the country (population 600 000). Located on the Maas River, Rotterdam is the largest port in the world and is also called the “Gateway to Europe”.

Rotterdam was founded in the mid 13^th century, but on May 14, 1940 the city centre was destroyed by a German bombardment, and as a result, Rotterdam now has a very modern city centre with world famous avant-garde architecture, which is quite different from other Dutch cities.

A very cool building with green ligths on the facade. The lights create different patters (map of the world, radar, and here, a seagull)

Rotterdam is also the centre of the world famous International Film Festival Rotterdam, which draws a large number of industry professionals and presents many international premieres, and is (like the Toronto International Film Festival), open to the public.

In front of the Doelen Centre, the festival headquarters. With Dutch Tim and Martin.

The Festival offers a selection of worldwide independent, innovative and experimental cinema and visual arts. It’s devoted to supporting independent filmmaking from around the world, and offers many international and very buzz worthy premieres. Nationally, the festival also promotes the distribution of independent cinema in collaboration with various Dutch organizations.

During twelve festival days, hundreds of filmmakers present their work to an audience of around 3000 film professionals in 18 festival locations around Rotterdam. This year there will be a total of 675 films screened, 97 of which are premieres. That’s a total of 1500 screenings.

I'll post film reviews soon, so check back!