Renowned program director Frédéric Boyer heads the RIFF program committee this year and is responsible for the competition category The Wise Ones. The category is dedicated to new directors who excel, among other things, in using new means of communication.
The committee is one of the pillars of RIFF and, in addition to Boyer, includes Hrönn Marinósdóttir, Guðrún Helga Jónasdóttir, Ana Catala and Giorgio Gosetti.
The extensive task now awaits the committee members to choose from the numerous films that have been submitted to the festival, but the application deadline is July 15th.
"Films provide a unique opportunity to shed light on a variety of issues in society, such as movements such as #metoo and Black Lives Matter. However, the theme alone is not enough; what matters most is that the film is good and that its content can spark interesting conversations. Panel discussions and this vibrant community around the films are what I find most interesting about this job," says Frédéric.
Frédéric began his career in a video rental shop in Paris and is currently the artistic director of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and the Les Arcs European Film Festival, two of the most renowned film festivals in the world. He has also been the chief program director of the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival.
"I am very happy to work at RIFF and increase the festival's reputation even more. A festival like this is a very important promotion of the country and at the same time a great platform for Icelandic filmmakers to meet foreign colleagues," says Frédéric.
The Reykjavík International Film Festival, RIFF, takes place from September 24 to October 4. This year, the festival receives the European Union's Creative Europe - Media grant, which is awarded to outstanding film festivals in Europe and amounts to nearly eight million ISK. The festival is also a founding member of Europa Film Festivals, a new European film festival lobby group.
