International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has named Marten Rabarts as head of its industry strand IFFR Pro, effective immediately.
He replaces Inke Van Loocke, who announced her departure from the festival in August.
Rabarts was festival director of the New Zealand International Film Festival from 2019-21.
More recently, New Zealand-born Rabarts worked as a script mentor on the inaugural edition of Jane Campion’s A Wave In The Ocean Lab.
Rabarts also has strong connections to the Dutch industry: he is a former head of Dutch film promotion organisation EYE International, now SeeNL, and was artistic director of the development centre Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam for 12 years. Other roles include head of development and training at the NFDC – the National Film Development Corporation – in India.
Rabarts will work closely with IFFR’s festival director Vanja Kaludjercic and report into chief of content, Melissa van der Schoor.
IFFR Pro hosts the CineMart co-production market, Pro Hub and talent development programmes, including producer training workshop Rotterdam Lab and BoostNL.
Among industry activities for 2025, IFFR will mark the 25th anniversary of Rotterdam Lab. It will also devote an industry day to the Dutch film ecosystem. Another key focus is the Darkroom, IFFR Pro’s programme of work-in-progress screenings that takes place during CineMart.
Kaludjercic said: “Marten has an incredible track record in both developing and implementing industry programmes and in elevating Dutch film culture on the global stage – making him the ideal person to spearhead and revitalise our industry offering, across both our existing strands and by forging new initiatives.”
The 54th edition of IFFR takes place January 30-February 9, with the IFFR Pro running between January 31-February 5 2025.
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