The theme of the city of Rotterdam in 2016 is Rotterdam Celebrates the City! – inspired by 75 years of post-war reconstruction. As part of this program, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) & Smarthouse Films present the project This Is Where Reconstruction Starts. Six young, leading international filmmakers were asked to make a short fiction or creative essay film that takes the theme of post-war reconstruction as its inspiration. 

The starting point for the short films was Rotterdam as a crossroads for many different cultures. Four international filmmakers tell a story of (young) people that are about to complete one phase of their lives and embark upon a new one. The other two filmmakers tell a story from the opposite perspective, starting at the moment of arrival of people who have left their homes to start anew somewhere else – and help shape the future of that city. 

This Is Where Reconstruction Starts is a production by IFFR and Smarthouse Films in collaboration with Warnier Posta and Haghefilm and is part of Rotterdam Celebrates the City!.

This is Not a Song of Hope Daniel Aragão, Brazil 
Where is Kurdistan? Aboozar Amini, The Netherlands
Mosaic Guido van Driel, The Netherlands Gardeners Mira Fornay, Slovakia
A Sunny Day Ying Liang, Hong Kong
Honey and Old Cheese Yassine El Idrissi, Morocco