Rotterdam Film Fest Opens With Dutch Crime Comedy ‘Fabula’ & Plea To Save Historic Cinerama Site

deadline.com:

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, born into a family haunted by disaster and determined to find out the cause of this.

He meets a series of colorful characters who slowly bring him closer to the explanation he has been searching for. Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic and managing director Clare Stewart highlighted new initiatives like the Displacement Film Fund as part of the festival’s ongoing mission to support displaced filmmakers and filmmakers with a proven track record in creating authentic storytelling on the experiences of displaced people.