Bero Beyer was also there. Not surprising in itself. At the Spring Consultation on current affairs and burning issues in the film sector held last night in the Ketelhuis, a broad cross-section of the Dutch film industry was present, as always. So also the newly appointed director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
But was he going to say anything? Because he had previously announced that he would keep his mouth firmly shut until 1 August, when he takes up his new post. As an exception, Beyer, currently still a consultant at the Film Fund and producer at Augustus Film, did want to say something, although unfortunately he kept most of his powder dry. Even after the stimulating spoken column by film journalist Jos van der Burg (Filmkrant, Parool), who accused the under-fire IFFR of lacking realism.
While Rotterdam, as a city of high-profile new architecture, is back in full force internationally, the IFFR is increasingly losing prestige. The Tiger Competition is underwhelming and filmmakers have other interesting festivals to choose from. So says Van der Burg, who does not understand why Beyer's predecessor thinks Rotterdam is still in fourth place in the world ranking of film festivals. The columnist sees a bunker mentality and denial complex here. As an illustration, he had selected the Monty Python scene with the Black Knight. Although already seriously injured in a duel fight - his arms and legs flying around - this one stubbornly insists that it is "just a scratch".
"Give the Rotterdam festival its heart back," was the urgent request to Beyer.
From the optimistic attitude of the widely appreciated Beyer could be seen that he is definitely planning such a thing. However, he limited himself here to assuring that he is eager to talk to as many people as possible and test ideas. "I am an idealist, like all of us right? And sometimes you do manage to get something done." He additionally revealed that he really does know what is going on.
Could he perhaps also mention something on which he disagreed with Van der Burg? To that question, Beyer replied that while he catches all those critical noises about Rotterdam in Cannes, behind those words he also still detects a lot of warmth and appreciation for Rotterdam.
Furthermore, Beyer stated that he is a huge fan of that famous Monty Python scene. At least that's a good start.
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