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Emma Stone and writer, producer and director Dave McCary’s Fruit Tree production company has secured a first look and TV development deal with Fremantle, the companies announced on Wednesday.

The deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for the company’s scripted TV projects and unscripted docuseries, with Fruit Tree working with the company’s global drama division and international distribution team to grow its slate and expand into new territories worldwide.

Founded in August 2020, Fruit Tree’s TV projects include Showtime’s “The Curse,” which Stone starred in alongside co-creators Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, and HBO’s “Fantasmas,” a six-episode surrealist comedy starring creator Julio Torres. Its next TV project will be the HBO documentary series “The Yogurt Shop Murders” directed by Margaret Brown.

Meanwhile, Fruite Free’s film slate includes Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” Torres’ “Problemista” and Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow.

“We are on the way up,” a bullish Sandra den Hamer says of prospects for the Dutch film sector for 2025 and beyond. The chief executive office of the Netherlands Film Fund believes that the local film industry is at last moving forward after several difficult years in the wake of Covid, falling market share for local movies and the near invisibility of Dutch cinema at major international festivals.

Dutch films are performing better than many anticipated in 2024, growing market share to 17% from 14% the previous year. Comedy drama Loverboy: Emotions Off was the top performing local title with revenues of $4.5mn driven largely by younger cinemagoers.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) got underway on Thursday evening with Dutch director Michiel ten Horn’s gender-blending, crime caper Fabula.

Set in the southern border province of Limberg, the feature stars Fedja van Huêt (the psychotic father in Christian Tafdrup’s 2022 Sundance breakout Speak No Evil) as a strung-out, misfit criminal trying to shake off a streak of intergenerational bad luck.

When a big drug deal goes wrong, he embarks on a personal journey imbued with fantasy, folklore and magic realism as he attempts to put things right.

Fabula was the first feature by a Dutch director to open the festival since Sacha Polak’s English-language drama Dirty God in 2019.

“It was fantastic to come across this film. I saw it as a work in progress, but just a few scenes gave me a pretty good idea that we were dealing with a filmmaker and a film that...

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) kicked off last night with the world premiere of Dutch crime comedy Fabula and a passionate call from artistic director Vanja Kaludjercic for cinema to tell stories that challenge, inspire and illuminate.

Speaking to around 800 guests at Rotterdam’s Oude Luxor Theater, Kaludjercic welcomed Michiel ten Horn’s Fabula as the first Dutch film to open the festival since 2018.

Many of the film’s cast and crew – including stars Fedja van Huet and Sezgin Guleç as well as producers Sander Verdonk and Thomas den Drijver - were in attendance and were loudly applauded by the crowd.

The 54th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) opened on Thursday night with Dutch film Fabula at the Oude Luxor Theater, in front of more than 800 guests.

Dutch director Michiel ten Horn appeared onstage alongside actors Fedja van Huet and Sezgin Guleç as well as producers Sander Verdonk and Thomas den Drijver to introduce their crime comedy film.

“Fabula is a film that is a homage to the art of storytelling,” said Verdonk. “Stories are amazing — you can tell these little secrets, jokes or fables, and they tell you something about life, lift you up, change your mind, make you feel better or make you think.”

Den Drijver added: “Michiel’s insane vision inspired us to produce this film. We’ve been working on it for quite some time and we’re very proud to be showing it to you here today.”

The crime comedy film tells the story of Jos,...

The Dutch film Fabula, the opening film of IFFR 2025, employs all possible means to tell its story. The film, much like its protagonist, the 55-year-old petty criminal Jos (played by renowned Dutch actor Fedja van Huêt), does not adhere to any specific theory. However, the title strongly evokes theoretical concepts, particularly the narrative theories of Propp and Shklovsky from the early 20th century. For them, fabula referred to the chronology of the story—in this case, the life story of Jos—while syuzhet denoted the way the story is structured and told by filmmaker Michiel ten Horn. So far for crawling in the skin of the of the old Russian formalists of which the filmmaker seems much the opposite. In Fabula the story follows Jos, who, alongside his much...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Dutch filmmaker Michiel ten Horn will make history at the International Film Festival Rotterdam with his latest feature, “Fabula,” the first homegrown Dutch production to open the festival since 2018.

The film follows Jos, a small-time criminal played by Fedja van Huêt, in a redemption story that combines crime, comedy, and fantasy. Set in Limburg, the Netherlands’ southernmost province, “Fabula” explores local folklore and contemporary themes through an unconventional narrative.

“It’s between comedy, crime, and fantasy. You are never quite sure what to expect,” ten Horn said. He deliberately filmed during November and December to create an intentionally uncomfortable atmosphere that supports the story’s darker elements.

The narrative draws inspiration from classic redemption tales, with ten Horn comparing the protagonist to a Charles Dickens character. Jos faces a personal crisis after a drug deal goes wrong and learns he’s about to become a grandfather. The story unfolds as a journey of transformation,...

International Film Festival Rotterdam is opening with a homegrown Dutch film for the first time since 2018.

Writer-director Michiel ten Horn’sFabulaaims to combinegrittiness with magical realism to tell the story of asmall-time crook, played by Fedja van Huêt, star of Oscar- winning Dutch movie Character.

The setting is almost as important as the storyline, says ten Horn. He shot the film in Limburg, a province in the very muddy south of the Netherlands, close to the Belgian and German border. It is famous today as the birthplace of right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

“I am originally from there as well,...

As the 2025 Rotterdam International Film Festival opens its doors to audiences on Thursday — the 54th edition of the IFFR runs Jan. 30-Feb. 9 — festival director Vanja Kaludjercic and managing director Clare Stewart gave The Hollywood Reporter an insider’s look into this year’s program and the challenges faced by the festival and the independent film industry at large.

Dark comedy Fabula, by Dutch director Michiel ten Horn, about a provincial criminal grappling with personal and professional failures, will open the festival, the first Dutch movie to do so since 2018. IFFR closes with This City Is A Battlefield by Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya, a Dutch-Indonesia co-production set during the country’s fight for independence from the Dutch in 1946. The Netherlands and its former colony signed a co-production agreement in December, opening access to Dutch subsidies for Indonesian productions, including a potential 35 percent cash rebate through the Netherlands Film Production Incentive.

Cultural...

Michiel ten Horn’s “Fabula” – which opens this year’s edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam – follows a “dumb, selfish gangster who gets himself into a lot of trouble,” explains the director. But there’s a “philosophical layer” to it as well.

“It’s a redemption story, almost like ‘A Christmas Carol.’ He’s like a Charles Dickens character who’s visited by four ghosts and put through a real beating in order to learn something.”

In his crime comedy, Jos (“Speak No Evil’s” Fedja van Huêt) is used to bad luck – after all, his family has been dealing with it for years. But as a drug deal goes terribly wrong and, on top of it all, he finds out he’s about to become a grandfather, Jos’ determined to finally break the circle.

“I think the audience likes it when a character is struggling but also trying his best to achieve something.

Now in their second year working together within the dual leadership structure of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, festival director Vanja Kaludjercic and managing director Clare Stewart are confidently looking into the future. The duo is heading into the festival’s 54th edition, taking place between Jan. 30 – Feb. 9, having just secured funding for the next four iterations and thinking of ways to deepen their connection to local audiences and their wide net of international filmmakers.

In the year and a half since being appointed, Stewart says she has “properly become a Rotterdam resident and got much more of a connection with the spirit of the city and how the festival is embedded in it.” In the last year, she and Kaludjercic have worked on a five-year strategy following the success of the 2024 edition, which the managing director says “has met all financial challenges [despite] quite a large business remodeling” that had...

From Argentina to Austria, Congo to China, films from all corners of the globe are peppered through the programme of the Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR), which opens tomorrow, Thursday January 30.

Now in her fifth year at Rotterdam, festival director Vanja Kaludjercic – whose previous roles include stints at the Coproduction Office and as head of acquisitions at Mubi – says the 2025 edition presents filmmakers, themes and topics “that you do not often get a chance to see”.

Rotterdam’s two competitions – Tiger and Big Screen – each screen 14 films. Tiger is for emerging auteur filmmakers, while Big Screen “presents more classical cinema from dramas to arthouse,...

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will debut 14 feature works in its main competition and host on-stage talks with Cate Blanchett and Cheryl Dunye during its upcoming 54th edition, which runs 30 January – 9 February 2025.

The festival announced its competition lineups and talks this morning during a presser.

IFFR’s main Tiger Competition comes with a €40,000 cash prize. The festival also hands out two Special Jury Awards worth €10,000 each. The films selected this year include Im Haus meiner Eltern by Tim Ellric, Bad Girl by Varsha Bharath, and Guo Ran by Li Dongmei. Scroll down for the full list of titles. The Tiger Competition Jury will feature Yuki Aditya, Soheila Golestani, Winnie Lau, Peter Strickland, and Andrea Luka Zimmerman.

The headline guests of the festival’s talks lineup are Cate Blanchett and Guy Maddin, who will discuss their collaboration on Rumours. Also set for discussions in Rotterdam are DoP Lol Crawley and American...

The 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will begin on January 30 and run until February 9. This year’s festival will feature various films emphasizing emerging talents and well-known artists worldwide.

Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic expressed enthusiasm for this year’s topic, noting, “Since our first festival in 1972, IFFR has been a space for bold creativity, where the unexpected finds a home, and cinema in all of its splendor is celebrated.” The festival strives to offer a vibrant arena for new filmmaking, with three competitive divisions reflecting the experimental essence of modern cinema.

The Talks program is a prominent part of IFFR. Highlights include a unique conversation between Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and filmmaker Guy Maddin. The two will discuss their recent collaboration on “Rumours” and the importance of creative relationships and short films.

Additional speakers include renowned cinematographer Lol Crawley, who will receive the Robby Müller Award and share insights from his work.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam revealed the lineups of its Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competition sections Tuesday, and the first tranche of speakers for the Talks program, who include Cate Blanchett and Guy Maddin.

Following their recent collaboration on “Rumours,” Blanchett and Maddin will come together for “an expansive dialogue about creative collaboration, the role of film festivals, and the enduring power of the short film form,” IFFR said.

IFFR will also welcome Robby Müller Award recipient Lol Crawley, in conversation with writer and film critic Peter Bradshaw to discuss his cinematography, including his work on “The Brutalist” and other highlights from his career.

Filmmaker Alex Ross Perry, known for Locarno’s “Listen Up Philip,” Toronto’s “Her Smell” and Sundance’s “Golden Exits,” will talk about his documentary “Videoheaven,” part of the Focus program “Hold Video in Your Hands,” celebrating the community spirit of VHS culture. Perry...

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) unveiled its 2025 Big Screen and Tiger Short competitive sections on Tuesday. Typical for Rotterdam, the selection is truly global, with films traversing from Montenegro to Malaysia, and from Congo to India.

The Big Screen Competition, which features films that bridge arthouse and popular cinema, features highlights including The Assistant from Polish directors Anka and Wilhelm Sasnal, whose It Looks Pretty from a Distance was in Rotterdam’s Tiger competition in 2012, Albert Oehlen’s Bad Painter starring Udo Kier, and the Japanese drama Yasuko, Songs of Days Past from director Negishi Kichitaro.

Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett and Canadian avant-garde filmmaker Guy Maddin will attend IFFR 2025 as part of the festival’s IFFR Talks lineup, to discuss their recent collaboration on Maddin’s Rumours. Other IFFR talks include a conversation with The Brutalist cinematographer Lol Crawley — winner of the IFFR’s Robby Müller lifetime achievement award — and...

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the Tiger and Big Screen competition line-ups for its 54th edition which takes place from January 30 – February 9.

The Tiger Competition, which showcases emerging voices from across the globe, has 14 world premieres spanning Montenegro to Malaysia and Congo to India. IFFR said one of the Tiger titles will be revealed closer to the festival due to sensitivities surrounding its release. Another 20 titles play in IFFR’s Tiger Short Competition.

The competition includes Julian Chou’s Blind Love, which recently won the Screenplay Award at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (Fpp) project market.