Hubert Bals Fund announces 2021 autumn selection

Ten projects to receive the HBF Script and Project Development support

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) announces that its Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) has chosen ten film projects to receive HBF Script and Project Development support – a grant of €10,000 to be spent on project development. The diverse selection spans various genres – featuring a Guatemalan romance, a journey through the underworld of Dakar, a woman leading her own small-scale revolution in Georgia, and an Indonesian experimental documentary that observes the human-nature relationship in Indonesia’s active stratovolcano Mount Merapi. Selected from 520 submissions by a committee of global industry experts, the HBF 2021 autumn selection features seven female and four male directors, and includes five first-time feature filmmakers.

HBF interim manager Esther Bannenberg: “The talent displayed in this autumn’s application round was outstanding, reflecting the array of perspectives and stories that need to be given a platform in the world today. We have the great honour of assisting these filmmakers in pursuing their visions, and with any luck we can help them find the audiences their talent deserves.” 

Still from Fidelidad by César Díaz

Since 1989 the Hubert Bals Fund has offered a launchpad for some of the most distinguished filmmakers working today, providing an initial vote of confidence and financial impetus that so often proves a vital first step in a film’s development process. Previously supported directors include Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Pablo Larraín, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Anita Rocha da Silveira and Lucrecia Martel. 

IFFR Pro manager Marit van den Elshout: “I’m delighted to see such a fantastic selection during my final selection round overseeing the Hubert Bals Fund. Over more than twenty years I’ve witnessed the real difference our contribution can make, and can’t wait to once again see the films that this development support inspires.”

Five projects from the HBF Script and Project Development selection with plans for Dutch collaboration will be given extra support by the Netherlands Film Fund. IFFR’s recent partnership with Projeto Paradiso offers the selected Brazilian project with additional support.

HBF Script and Project Development autumn complete selection: 

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry, Elene Naveriani, Switzerland, Georgia

The Burning Giants, Phuttiphong Aroonpheng, Thailand

Cero cincuenta, Mariana Rojas, Argentina

Elephants in the Fog, Abinash Bikram Shah, Nepal

Estoy bien, Alicia Scherson, Chile

Fidelidad, César Díaz, Guatemala

Four Girls, Karen Suzane, Clara Ferrer, Brazil

Monisme, Riar Rizaldi, Indonesia

Nunca seré policía, Carolina Moscoso, Chile

Pènc 13, Selly Raby Kane, Senegal, South Africa

NFF+HBF Co-production Scheme

The NFF+HBF Co-production Scheme is a joint initiative with the Netherlands Film Fund to support projects with Dutch co-production partners that were previously supported by the HBF in the development phase. Three projects selected are all to receive the increased award of €75,000. These are: 

Tiger Stripes, Amanda Nell Eu, Malaysia/Indonesia/Singapore/Germany/France/Netherlands

Xenos, Mahdi Fleifel, Denmark/Greece/Netherlands

Ze, Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, France/Mongolia/Netherlands/Germany 

The HBF is thankful for the engagement of the Tiger Film Mecenaat and the Netherlands Film Fund who make these funding schemes possible.