HBF Script and Project Development

Projects from a country on the HBF list of eligible countries, or the diaspora of one of these countries, with a director attached, who is a national from one of these countries or lives in the diaspora. The artistic quality of an application is the main criteria for selection. The selection committee will also look closely at the viability of a project.

For its Script and Project Development category, the HBF is looking to support feature length fiction projects in early to mid-development.

The HBF is part of International Film Festival Rotterdam and generally speaking, the type of projects that the HBF supports are in line with the type of films that are screened at IFFR. Please see the past Harvests of HBF supported films that were part of IFFR’s programme as a reference.

The main focus of the fund is the support of narrative feature films. Shorts and films made for television will not be taken in consideration. Documentary projects are advised to apply to the IDFA Bertha Fund of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.

In some specific cases, the Hubert Bals Fund has supported creative documentary films such as Ningdu and Lucrecia Martel’s ongoing project Chocobar. These films were selected because of their strong cinematic approach. HBF can therefore support creative documentaries based on a strong artistic vision, mix of fiction and documentary elements or an experimental approach to filmmaking.

Yes. However, please be aware that it is unlikely that more than one project by the same director or producer will be selected in the same selection round. We advise you to submit the project that has the most priority for you.

The application form for Script and Project Development support is available at least two weeks before the deadline.

If you want to prepare your application in advance, you can find the information requested in the application form in the question below. 

The Hubert Bals Fund application form allows applicants to submit detailed information about their project. The form is available through your personal account two weeks before the deadline. The following information is required in the form:

- General info: title, production country/ies, type of film;
- Film credits: name and contact details of director, and if applicable, of (co-)producer, writer, financier, sales agent;
- Technical info: running time, shooting format, colour/b&w, languages;
- Financial info: total budget (in Euro), financing already secured (it is possible to add an explanantion in the Remarks field);
- Project info: logline (max. 60 words), synopsis (max 1,500 words), director’s statement (max 1,500 words), sold territories, link to one piece of previous work, most successful recent festival selections and awards for director and producer (list max. 3 titles), possible Dutch cooperation e.g. co-producer, distributor, crew (optional).

Within one month after the deadline the HBF selection committee will reach a decision on all HBF Script and Project Development submissions and all pre-selected projects will receive an e-mail notification to submit their full dossier. You have one week to submit the complete dossier after notification, you can send it via e-mail to [email protected]. It is not possible to extend this one week period, therefore we recommend that you make sure you have the materials available.

The following materials should be included in the project dossier:

- Synopsis (max. 3 pages)
- Treatment (max. 12 pages, sending in a script instead of a treatment is not allowed)
- Director’s biography and filmography (max. 2 pages)
- Director’s statement (max. 3 pages)
- Director's visual concept and artistic approach (max. 2 pages)
- Producer’s biography and filmography (max. 2 pages) (if a producer is attached)
- Producer’s statement (max. 3 pages) (if a producer is attached)
- Budget for script and project development phase
- Financial plan for total production
- Written explanation on finance strategy (max. 1 page)
- Development schedule
- Previous audiovisual work of the director: online available on streaming platform (such as Vimeo and YouTube)
- Optional: visual reference material (moodboard, teaser, reference pictures)
- Optional: intended Dutch collaboration(s), e.g. co-producer, crew, services, distributor

Besides the page restriction for some documents, there are no specific requirements regarding dossier format, font (size) and spacing. These materials should be compiled into one PDF or Word document. All materials should be written in English. Only complete dossiers will be taken into consideration.

All applications done at the Hubert Bals Fund should be submitted before 23:59h on the deadline date in the applicant’s time zone. Late submissions are not taken into consideration.

The director(s) of the film should be a national from one of the countries mentioned on the HBF list of eligible countries, or the diaspora of one of these countries. If one of the directors is not a national one of these countries or does not live in diaspora, it is not possible to apply.

In phase 1 of the selection process for HBF Script and Project Development, the selection committee assesses all application forms submitted. Out of these submitted forms, a limited number of projects is invited to send in their complete application dossiers. These projects are 'pre-selected' and enter phase 2 of the application process.

Applicants that are not 'pre-selected' will be notified by e-mail. It is not possible to enter phase 2 without passing phase 1, so please make sure you fill out our online application form through your personal account. If you haven’t been pre-selected, it is not possible to submit the same project in the same category again.

The HBF asks for a few things in return for its support, after a supported film is finished. Firstly a front credit with the Hubert Bals Fund logo in the film. Besides this, the World, International or Benelux premiere of the film should take place at International Film Festival Rotterdam, and no screening fees should be charged. The Benelux rights of the film remain with the rights-holder of the film. However, if no distribution agreement with a Benelux distributor is concluded within six months after the World premiere of the film, the Benelux exploitation rights are transferred to HBF. The HBF also asks non-exclusive world VOD rights of the film, to ensure that the film can at some point (after potential exclusive deals) be included in online IFFR curated content.

The Benelux rights of the film remain with the rights-holder of the film. However, if no distribution agreement with a Benelux distributor is concluded within six months after the World premiere of the film, the Benelux exploitation rights are transferred to HBF. The HBF also asks non-exclusive world VOD rights of the film, to ensure that the film can at some point (after potential exclusive deals) be included in online IFFR curated content.

The application form requires you to include information about previous accomplishments of the director and the producer. It is important for us to know more about your previous work. In these fields you can summarise three important awards, selections or premieres of your work. For instance: 3 different awards for one film, three festival selections for three different films, one scholarship and two grants for one project, you decide!

The synopsis should not be presented in the form of a premise, but as a narrative summary of the entire project. It serves as a complete outline of the story from start to finish, which also includes the ending so that the committee can understand the project in its entirety.

No. You cannot send a script instead of a treatment in the application process. Due to the amount of applications we receive, and given the fact that the Hubert Bals Fund has a small selection committee, it is not possible for us to accept scripts for this category due to time issues.

No. Since we support projects in (early) development, it often happens that we support projects without a producer attached. When applying without a producer attached to your project, it is advisable to include some information on finding a producer. For instance are you in talks with anyone already? By when do you expect to attach a producer? Do you expect to (partly) produce the film yourself as a director/producer? Etc.

Phase 1: Please fill out the (estimated) total budget of the film in the entry form.
Phase 2: Please send us the budget for your current production phase. This means that, when applying for HBF Script and Project Development, we would like to receive the development budget. You may also include (a summary of) the total budget, if available.

A financial plan should explain which financiers you have on board and for which amount. This overview also shows how you are planning to cover the remaining financing; please also indicate any pending applications. You can include all sorts of financiers (producers, funds, awards, etc.). Your financial plan should concern at least your current production phase. If you have a finance plan for your total film available, please include this as well. 

The finance strategy is a written text, which clarifies the financial plan and should explain your (provisional) plan to finance the film. You can further explain the amounts and status of your financial plan. 

For the fund to participate in a project, there should be a strong possibility that the film can be financed and made. However, since applicants submit their project in the (early) development phase, it is not necessary to have other financiers or partners in place at the time of applying. Especially with Script and Project Development support, the Hubert Bals Fund is often the first partner on board. The selection committee looks closely at the impact of our moderate contribution (max. €10,000) and to what extend funding of the development stage is still needed. Often, the selection committee prioritises projects with little or no funding in place over projects with high confirmed amounts of (production) support.

The Script and Project Development scheme of the Hubert Bals Fund does not have an official budget cap. However our selection committee does look at the impact of our contribution of maximum €10.000 in relation to the general budget of the project. For this reason we rarely support projects with budgets over €1,2 million in practice. 

In both phases 1 and 2 of HBF Script and Project Development projects, you are asked to submit (an) online streaming link(s) to your previous audiovisual work. This is a mandatory part of the application.

Preferably your previous work supports and clarifies your Script and Project Development application. You can explain the relation (or lack thereof) between your previous films and the current project in your application, for instance in the director's statement.

Your previous work needs to be subtitled in English and the online link to your film must be available until three months after the deadline. Please submit complete films, trailers and/or showreels only are not sufficient.