Beyond the avant-garde: IFFR's director reveals a festival

When the lights dim on the historic streets of Rotterdam, the International Film Festival begins its ritual of daring selections and unexpected gatherings. Vanja Kaludjercic, the festival's steward, acknowledges the reputation for edgy, unconventional cinema, yet she insists that the true pulse of the event lies in its dual nature-an arena where avant-garde visions share space with stories that speak directly to the public's curiosity. Walking through the bustling venues, one encounters a tapestry of experiences: a midnight screening of a boundary-pushing experimental piece followed by a lively conversation that draws in casual moviegoers, a pop-up workshop where emerging filmmakers swap ideas with seasoned auteurs, and a street-level program that invites passersby to linger over a shared love of narrative. Kaludjercic's vision is not to dilute the festival's artistic rigor but to expand its horizon, allowing the highbrow and the heartfelt to coexist without compromise. The result is a festival that feels less like a closed circle of cinephiles and more like a citywide conversation about cinema's possibilities. It is a place where the unconventional is celebrated, yet the audience is never left feeling alienated-a reminder that bold storytelling can be both challenging and warmly accessible.