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Projects from Brazil and Kazakhstan supported by NFF+HBF scheme

25 April 2023

Karen Suzane and Zhannat Alshanova

News

Projects from Brazil and Kazakhstan supported by NFF+HBF scheme

25 April 2023

Quatro Meninas and A Winner is Seen at the Start are the latest projects to receive backing from the NFF+HBF Co-production Scheme, a collaboration between the Netherlands Film Fund and the Hubert Bals Fund. Filmmakers Karen Suzane and Zhannat Alshanova each receive €75,000 towards their projects which were previously supported by the Hubert Bals Fund in the development stage and now have an attached Dutch co-producer.

In Kazakh director Alshanova’s debut feature, Mila joins a swimming team with unconventional methods. The drive for elite performance and competitive edge comes at a cost in this experimental school. The absurd contradictions between a culture that promotes brutal competition alongside mindfulness and inner peace are exposed in A Winner is Seen at the Start, which follows Alshanova’s three successful short films, including History of Civilisation which won the Silver Prize at Locarno in 2020. Denis Vaslin, from Rotterdam’s Volya Films co-produces the project. 

Quatro Meninas tells the story of four black girls in 19th century Brazil who escape their boarding school and their oppressive white mistresses. Friendship, conflicting desires, unity and empowerment are all explored in this first feature from Karen Suzane. Co-produced by Ellen Havenith from Amsterdam based PPRL, the project took part in last edition’s BoostNL co-development scheme and won the Market Potential Award at the Holland Film Meeting. 

Concept still: Quatro Meninas (dir Karen Suzane, BoostNL 22–23)

Concept still: A Winner is Seen at the Start

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