Rotterdam’s International Film Festival is currently underway, with a diverse lineup of films screening at LantarenVenster 1, 4, and 6. The festival, running through February 8th, features several films throughout the day.
The schedule begins at 10:00 with a showing of Los Domingos, a 117-minute film, at all three venues. At 12:45, audiences can witness Habibi Hussein, a 96-minute film, also screening at LantarenVenster 1, 4, and 6. This film is already generating discussion as a “cautionary tale about cultural colonialism.”
The afternoon continues at 15:00 with Home, a 105-minute feature, available at LantarenVenster 1, 4, and 6. Following that, at 17:15, attendees can enjoy Tunnels: Sun in the Dark, a 126-minute film, shown at the same locations.
The day concludes at 20:30 with a screening of 3 Days in September, a 76-minute film, at LantarenVenster 1, 4, and 6. The festival’s program includes a total of 428 feature and short films, with 211 world premieres, highlighting its position as a key event for independent cinema.
Habibi Hussein centers on Hussein Darbi, a veteran film projectionist working to restore a carbon-arc projector in Jenin, a Palestinian city. According to critic Olaf Möller, the film is “an extremely partisan behind-the-scenes take” that portrays Darbi as a seasoned professional treated as an apprentice by the NGO team involved in the cinema’s reconstruction. The film explores the power dynamics inherent in cultural recovery and the potential for external intervention to undermine local expertise.
