NFF+HBF scheme awards projects from Chile and Singapore

Through the Hubert Bals Fund’s collaboration with the Netherlands Film Fund, projects by Singaporean filmmaker Siyou Tan and Chilean animators Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León will each be awarded €75,000 in the second 2023 support round of the NFF+HBF: Co-production scheme. The awards are another helping hand to the projects on their way to completion, following previous development support grants from the HBF.

Chilean stop-motion duo Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León are supported for their second feature Los Angeles. Combining puppets, animation, and live action in dark, absurdist style, the film transports the urban pest controller Dalia into her own science fiction series. The project is a Dutch co-production through Viking Film. Their first feature, La casa lobo (2018), won prizes at Berlin and Annecy.

In Singaporean filmmaker Siyou Tan’s debut feature Amoeba, a 16-year old and her three rebellious friends are inspired by the erased stories of mythical gangsters from colonial Singapore. They decide to form their own gang, in a place where even chewing gum is illegal. The strictness of laws in Singapore, and the urge of rebellious girls to resist is also the premise of her short Strawberry Cheesecake (2021), which screened at Locarno. Amoeba is a co-production with Rotterdam-based Volya Films. 

The Netherlands Film Fund also contributed to the support of five of the projects awarded in the November 2023 development support round.