NFF+HBF backs features by Theo Montoya and Kasım Ördek

Dutch co-productions by Colombian filmmaker Theo Montoya and Turkish filmmaker Kasım Ördek have each been awarded €75,000 by the Hubert Bals Fund together with the Netherlands Film Fund.

The NFF+HBF Co-production Scheme, a joint venture between the Hubert Bals Fund and the Netherlands Film Fund, strengthens the commitment to HBF Development-supported projects by awarding production funds to projects that have secured a Dutch co-producer.

Theo Montoya’s Falso positivo (False Positive) is his second feature, following his acclaimed goth doc-fiction hybrid Anhell69, which premiered at Venice Critics’ Week 2022 and went on to screen at IDFA, SXSW and Sheffield Doc/Fest. Set in early 2000s Colombia, False Positive reconstructs the “false positives” scandal – in which civilians were killed and falsely presented as guerrillas killed in combat during the 2009 Democratic Security Policy operation – through a fragmented, dreamlike structure that interlaces multiple perspectives. Having also received support from the Cannes Cinéfondation and HBF Development in 2024, the project is awarded through its Dutch co-producer Baldr Film.

Goodbye for Now is the debut feature from Turkish filmmaker Kasım Ördek, set in the underbelly of Istanbul and following two friends who survive through petty theft until a sudden disappearance and a desertion force them into a race against time. Ördek’s short Together, Alone premiered at the 2022 Sarajevo Film Festival. The project is awarded through its Dutch co-producer The Film Kitchen.

A previous recipient of the scheme, Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Sara Ishaq’s The Station – supported through NFF+HBF in 2021 – has been selected for the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes 2026, joining four other HBF and CineMart-backed titles in this year’s selections.