The VPRO Tiger Award Competition remains at the heart of the festival's "principle of discovery and nurturing of low to medium budget films from new talents," underlines IFFR director Simon Field. Out of the 15 films in competition, nine are world premieres.

Films in competition

Verboden Te Zuchten (I Know I'll See Your Face Again) by Alex Stockman / Belgium / international premiere
Joris decides to leave Brussels after his first love ends but for days the city holds him back. A solitary journey trough a city that supports as well as depresses. Stockman balances brilliantly between humour and melancholism. A large part of the movie takes place in a rundown hotel where Joris meets several passers-by. The film also echoes Godard, Tati, Kafka and a well chosen soundtrack. Alex Stockman (1962, Hasselt) is a collaborator of the Flemish magazine Humo. He produced reports for the national channel BRT besides writing and directing several short films. This is his first feature film.

Domesticas by Fernando Meirelles, Nando Olival / Brazil / world premiere
In Brazil more than three million housemaids can tell their individual yet universal tale about loneliness, ambition and loss, but also about solidarity and love. Not only the subject but also the form makes this film special. It starts out as a documentary. Five women tell about themselves, their desires, frustrations, problems and pleasures. As the film progresses it gives way to scenes that illustrate their stories. Fernando Meirelles (1955, São Paulo) contributed to the innovation of Brazilian television, directed a popular children's show and is a partner in his country's largest production company. Nando Olival (São Paulo) studied cinema, directed many television commercials and made a short film in 1997.

All the Way by Shi Runjiu / China / world premiere
The chaos of modern Chinese society embedded in a gangster movie that turns the lives around from ordinary people. A loose style and a hand held camera visualises on a cinematographic level the chaos in which they are situated. ALL THE WAY is not only a reflection on the new Chinese society but also a rewarding gangstermovie that celebrates the laws of the genre. Shi Runjiu (1969) graduated 1992 in direction at the Central Drama Academy in Beijing. He created musicvideo's and documentaries before his 1998 feature debut.

On Apelle Ca ... Le Printemps by Hervé Le Roux / France / world premiere
Three female friends, separated by own initiative or forced to leave, set out to find shelter elsewhere followed closely by their partners. A bitter comedy on the small war of the sexes. Hervé Le Roux (1956) was a journalist and a critic for Cahiers du Cinema and others, and a programmer at the Paris Festival d'Automne. As a director's assistent he collaborated on Incognito (Alain Bergala) en several short films. He co-wrote the study Cinégenie de la bicyclette (1995).

In Den Tag Hinein (The Days Between) by Maria Speth / Germany / international premiere
Without goals or plans, a young woman gets involved in relationships with two very different men in a sensitive film about wandering souls in an urban landscape. Partly because of a beautiful cinematography the film reminds of the sensitivity of recent Asiatic examples on the same subject. Sabine Timoteo, winner of the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno Festival for her part in L'Amour, L'Argent L'amour by Philip Gröning, plays the principal character. Maria Speth (1967, Titting, Germany) took acting lessons by Janina Szarek and worked from 1991 as an editing and director's assistent. Since 1996 she studies at the Potsdam Konrad Wolf Film and Television Academy.

Planet Alex by Uli M. Schüppel / Germany / world premiere
This film creates an apocalyptic image of Berlin around a network of characters who revolve around Berlin Alexanderplatz. The use of a small DV camera and afterwards to 35 mm adapted footage add to the film's visual esthetics resulting in a magical, transparent quality supporting a sense of realism. Uli M. Schüppel (1958, Odenwald) studied from 1984 to 1990 at the Film and Television Academy in Berlin. As well as short films and features, he has made several music videos.

Ternitz Tennessee by Mirjam Unger (Austria)
Two friends from the Austrian countryside see their American Dream become reality when an Elvis-impersonator gives a performance. They instantly fall in love with him. The film is a bittersweet fairytale in which dreams merge with everyday life; a fantasy about freedom. The glamour of showbizz wakes a desire that cannot match with reality. Unger¹s first feature is carried by the charm of the characters Betty and Lilly, both driven by a strong will to reach their goals. Mirjam Unger (1970, Vienna) worked as a journalist in radio and television. In 1993 she started a director¹s course at the Vienna Film Academy. This is her first feature film.

Hole in the Sky by Kumakiri Kazuyoshi / Japan / world premiere
Japan world premiere Wonderful, deeply human portrayal of a goodhearted, lonely owner of a roadside restaurant who thinks he discovered love. Kumakiri paints his characters with a profound insight into human tragedy. He is one of the young and talented filmmakers of Japan. Kumakiri Kazuyoshi (1974) started filmmaking in highschool and earned his first film award at age seventeen. He studied film at the Osaka Art University, where he graduated with Kichiku which won a second prize at the 20th Pia Film Festival in 1997 and got a succesfull distribution in Japan.

Bad Company by Furumaya Tomoyuki / Japan / world premiere
Japan Portrait of a small group of boys living under the strict regime of their highschool teacher. Daily self-criticism and a 'humanity index' are part of the educational tactic. Furumaya shows an unusual insight into the psychi of these children. Particularly in moments where apparently nothing is happening, his powers of observation are reveiled. Simply the way he is able to detach everyday situations from reality, illustrates his total concentration on the subject.

Secret Tears by Park Ki-Hyung / South-Korea / European premiere
A drunk insurance agent runs over a teenage girl that turns out to possess paranormal powers, that soon develop into a dangerous and uncontrolable level. SECRET TEARS is not a genre-film, even less then his debut, that criticised implicitly the Korean eductional system. The film-maker touches the essence of the idea of universal love, by using the magical visual qualities belonging to the fantastic-genre. Park Ki-Hyung (1967) started his film career in 1992 as the assistent director of Hong Ki-Seon.

Compassionate Sex by Laura Mañá / Spain-Mexico / European premiere
A woman in a Mexican village discovers her gift to safe man's lifes by sleeping with them. With it's touching and lightly surrealistic tone, this debut makes fun of the Latino macho culture. The actress Mañá proves to be a great director with her femenistic fabel. The film is carried by its unusual caracters and its scenes full of atmosphere, that makes one think of Buñuel in his Mexican period. Maña has the talent to draw surprising meanings over and over again from a quite basic story, and is never afraid to head straight forward for her goal. Laura Mañá (1968, Barcelona) studied Theatre as well as Tourism and was an actress since 1990 in many films.

Bangkok Dangerous by Oxide Pang, Danny Pang / Thailand / European premiere
A visually overwhelming debut of Chinese-Thai twin brothers about a deaf-mute hitman in Bangkok. Just when you thought you could safely put hitman movies behind you, along comes a left-field film that completely refreshes the genre. The Pang Brothers are both Chinese back-room boys in the film industry, Oxide working in Bangkok and Danny in Hong Kong. Oxide has directed once before, but this is their first collaboration - and they're not far behind the Wachowski Brothers when it comes to their way with CGI. The twin brothers Oxide and Pang started their carreer in Hong Kong, where Oxide worked as a colorist and Danny as an editor. After their move to Bangkok, Oxide made the experimental film Who's Running. Bangkok Dangerous is the first film in which the brothers combine their talents.

Iles Flottantes by Nanouk Leopold / The Netherlands / world premiere
Three girlfriends are used to look at themselves with scepticism and at the world with irony, but the thirtied birthday of one of them leads up to taking life more seriously. But it mainly gets more complicated. Nanouk Leopold filmed her feature debut in Rotterdam, which she shows as de-emphasized as rich. Her eye for the meaningfull detail also shows through her cool portrait of a generation, wonderfully played by a young cast. Benito Strangio, earlier responsible for Jacky (Fow Pyung Hu & Brat Ljatifi), was the cameraman. Nanouk Leopold (1968) studied Film direction at the Netherland Film and Television Academy. She received the Tuschinksi-Award and the Kodak Prize in the Munich Film Festival for her final exam film WEEKEND. Next to writing and directing a few short films and the television drama Max Lupa, she worked as a freelance journalist for the film magazine Skrien and as a critic for the Dutch television station VPRO's Stardust.

My Brother Tom by Dom Rotheroe / United Kingdom / world premiere
Two teenagers form a powerful and extreme bond in which no compromises are necessary and that takes them both down. It is filmed intensly and intimately with a digital hand camera. It is a film that could only be filmed in close-up: no obserfvation from a distance, but the camera as part of the action, close to the skin of the characters. That is why the director chose for the flexibility and possibility of improvisation of a digital camera (operated by Robby Müller, the Dutch cameraman that earlier worked with Wim Wenders and Lars von Trier). In addition it makes it possible to shoot whole scenes, which provides an optimal freedom for the actors. Dom Rotherhoe studied photography, film and video at the Harrow College in London. After that he took his video camera to Bosnia to make a documentary. Since then he has made documentaries in several places including Rio de Janeiro and East Timor. MY BROTHER TOM is his feature film debut.

25 Watts by Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll / Uruguay / world premiere
The endless boredom of a few young men in Montevideo, Uruguay is brought to the screen by focussing on trivia and details. That the result is an inventive, humourous and relaxed film, shows the talent of Rebella and Stoll. Small details like Javi's hamster or predictable conversations with the neighbour, become funny scenes. Besides this the film is adorned with unforgettable characters like a babbling hippie-wannabe, a laconic video store owner and a paranoid pizza delivery man. Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll (both 1974, Montevideo) met at the Catholic Univerity of Montevideo, where they studied Media.