International premiere of Ruins in Rotterdam

This year it boasts as many as 44 world premieres, 32 international premieres and 26 European premieres of feature films, mostly of Asian, South American and European production. Only 13 films are going to compete for the Golden Tiger.

Two Slovenian films have also qualified among the elite selection of more than 100 films from all over the world. Ruins by Janez Burger, the uncontested winner of the 7th Festival of Slovenian Film, qualified for the Cinema of the World: Time & Tide award, where it is going to have its international premiere. Cinema of the World: Time & Tide is one of the three new sections, for which the films reflecting the social and political reality or showing the state of mind in individual countries were chosen. The contents of the section reflect the three important viewpoints of the Rotterdam festival: encouraging young and creative artists, global development and original films. In the special short film program Heart is a Piece of Meat by Jan Cvitkovič is going to be shown; for this film it will already be the eighth festival after the premiere in Venice. In Rotterdam, the film Ruins will be represented by the director Janez Burger and producer Danijel Hočevar.

This year's program of the Rotterdam festival focuses on the Middle East issues and on the question of the Muslim identity. The festival audience will have the honour to see the first Iraqi film shot after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. The film Oday-a Rasheeda is an Iraqi - German co-production, shot in an American military base in Iraq, which tells an intimate story of doubts and fear of young American soldiers.