{"id":230691,"date":"2026-04-30T10:53:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/?p=230691"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:53:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:53:49","slug":"blog-cannes-2026-selections-for-hubert-bals-fund-and-cinemart-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/blog-cannes-2026-selections-for-hubert-bals-fund-and-cinemart-films","title":{"rendered":"Cannes 2026 selections for Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart films"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

IFFR-backed films supported by the Hubert Bals Fund and presented at CineMart are once again making their mark on the Cannes lineup \u2013 this year with five titles across the Official Selection and the Semaine de la Critique. The selections span reconciliation in Rwanda, wild elephants and a disappearing daughter in rural Nepal, a Japanese boarding school for teenage mermaids, a women-only petrol station in Yemen and a moving reflection on family wounds in 1990s Mexico City.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ben’imana by Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo \u2013 Un Certain Regard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HBF Development 2022<\/strong>
Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With her debut feature, self-taught Kigali-born filmmaker Dusabejambois becomes the first Rwandan filmmaker in the Cannes Official Selection, presenting a portrait of Rwanda as it strives to rebuild itself following the 1994 Tutsi Genocide. Set in 2012, the film follows Veneranda, a survivor, who organises sessions between victims and perpetrators’ families as people’s courts pursue justice and reconciliation following the genocide against the Tutsis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Through predominantly female characters, the film explores intergenerational trauma as love and hate, resentment and reconciliation intertwine. The film is an African majority co-production, with a cast composed almost entirely of non-professional actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dusabejambois previously explored these themes with the short film Lyiza<\/strong> which screened in Tribeca. Her work has screened widely at international festivals and won prizes including the Ousmane Sembene Award at ZIFF and the Golden Dhow in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elephants in the Fog by Abinash Bikram Shah \u2013 Un Certain Regard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HBF Development 2021, HBF+Europe 2023, BoostNL 2023 <\/strong>
Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil, Norway<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a small Nepalese village nestled in the heart of a forest populated by wild elephants, Pirati is the matriarch of a Kinnar community. She dreams of escaping to a “normal” life with the man she is in love with. But when one of her daughters disappears, she must investigate and choose between love and responsibility to her community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thriller is the debut feature feature from Shah, who has a strong track record at major festivals with his most recent short Lori<\/strong> (2022) receiving a Special Mention for the Palme d’Or Short at Cannes, while films he wrote \u2013 including Highway<\/strong> (2012, Berlinale) and The Black Hen<\/strong> (2015, Venice Critics’ Week) \u2013 have travelled widely.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Titanic Ocean by Konstantina Kotzamani \u2013 Un Certain Regard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CineMart 2019<\/strong>
Greece, Germany, Romania, France, Spain, Japan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the scintillating teenage universe of a special boarding school in Japan that trains teenage girls into professional mermaids, 17-year-old Akame will find her siren voice, discover first love and experience a metamorphosis. Set in Japan, in a closed, female universe, the film explores sexual awakening, obsession and transformation in a world where fantasy is choreographed and bodies are trained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the debut feature from Greek filmmaker Kotzamani who has premiered her short and medium-length work at Berlinale, Locarno, Venice and the International Critics’ Week. The project was presented at IFFR\u2019s co-production market CineMart at IFFR 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul (Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building) by Bruno Santamar\u00eda Razo \u2013 Semaine de la Critique<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support 2024<\/strong>
Mexico, Brazil, Denmark<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexico City, early 90s. The day Bruno turns 11, his growing feelings for his best friend Vladimir clash with the sudden announcement that his father has HIV. Like in salsa songs, his family tries to sing and dance their pain away. Thirty years later, Bruno films and reimagines the memory of what he could not quite perceive as a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his fiction feature debut, Mexican filmmaker Razo creates a moving universe with family gatherings and hidden wounds, shared music and dances, the tenderness of first love and a gentle nostalgia for the 1990s, all captured beautifully on 16mm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His documentary Cosas que no hacemos<\/strong> (2020) won the Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival and the Grand Prize at BAFICI. The film is Mexico\u2019s first feature-length film to premiere at Critics\u2019 Week in two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Station <\/em>by Sara Ishaq \u2013 Semaine de la Critique<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HBF Development 2018, CineMart 2020, NFF+HBF 2021, HBF+Europe 2022<\/strong>
Yemen, Jordan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Layal runs a women-only petrol station in Yemen, a safe haven in a war-torn country. There, the rules are simple: no men, no weapons, no politics. When Layal’s younger brother faces enlistment, she reunites with her estranged sister to save the one life they still can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yemeni-Scottish filmmaker Ishaq is known for her documentary work, including Karama Has No Walls<\/strong> (2012), nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA New Talent Award, and The Mulberry House<\/strong> (2013, IDFA). Since 2022 she has managed the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk, and at IFFR 2026 she sat on the Big Screen Competition Jury. The Station<\/strong> is her debut fiction feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe world of The Station<\/strong> distills what I cherish about Yemeni society into a fragile utopia\u201d, Ishaq told Deadline<\/em>, \u201cconstantly shadowed by turmoil beyond its walls. This film is about people in all their complexity, contradiction and resilience. It is an ode to the people of Yemen, who have endured years of war with dignity, humour and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Film still: La perra<\/strong> by Dominga Sotomayor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alumni in the selections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hubert Bals Fund alumni are well represented elsewhere in the selections. Colombian filmmaker Theo Montoya, supported for his upcoming Falso positivo<\/strong>, presents Pelot\u00f3n Trueno<\/strong> in the Short Films Competition. Chilean filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor \u2013 Tiger Award winner at IFFR 2012 for De jueves a domingo<\/strong> and later Tarde para morir joven<\/strong> (IFFR 2019) \u2013 brings La perra<\/strong> to the Quinzaine des cin\u00e9astes, alongside long-time HBF and IFFR collaborator Lisandro Alonso with Double Freedom<\/strong>. Haitian filmmaker Gessica G\u00e9n\u00e9us, whose HBF Development-supported debut Freda<\/strong> screened in Bright Future at IFFR 2022, presents Marie Madeleine<\/strong> in the Cannes Premiere section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Payal Kapadia returns to Cannes as President of the Jury for the Semaine de la Critique, following the IFFR-supported success of All We Imagine as Light<\/strong> at Cannes 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HBF+Europe support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Three films in the Cannes selections received support through HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support \u2013 a scheme through which the Hubert Bals Fund uses Creative Europe \u2013 MEDIA funding to encourage European producers to co-produce films by filmmakers from HBF-supported territories: Elephants in the Fog<\/strong> (2023), The Station<\/strong> (2022) and Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul<\/strong> (2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supported by<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A list with articles<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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