Chilean director Alicia Scherson and Argentinean director Lucrecia Martel were the two only Latin American filmmakers awarded at this year's Rotterdam Film Festival which, in its 42nd edition runs from January 23 through February 3rd.
Alicia Scherson received the KNF Award for her newest film Il Futuro (pictured). The KNF Award is given to the best feature film in The Big Screen Award Competition that is yet to find distribution within the Netherlands. The winner is selected by a jury of the Kring van Nederlandse Filmjournalisten (KNF), the 'Circle of Dutch Film Journalists.'
Il Futuro, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival few days ago and is based on a novella by Roberto Bolaño, starring Rutger Hauer and Manuela Martelli tells the story of teenager Bianca and her younger brother who lose their parents and they have to make their own way to the future.
Lucrecia Martel received the WorldView New Genres Fund Development Award in the CineMart section of the festival for her new film project Zama, a co-production of Lita Stantic Producciones (Argentina) and El Deseo (Spain). "A visually stunning and uniquely approached period project by one of South America’s most influential director", said the jury. The award come with a €5,000 cash prize.
WorldView is a project of CBA (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association) that aims to improve UK public understanding and awareness of the developing world via the mainstream broadcast and digital media. WorldView supports filmmakers who aim to bring the richness and diversity of the wider world to UK and international audiences. 2013 was the first time the award was presented.
