The Hubert Bals Fund is designed to bring remarkable or urgent feature films by innovative and talented filmmakers from developing countries closer to completion. The HBF provides grants that often turn out to play a crucial role in enabling these filmmakers to realize their projects
Although the Fund looks closely at the financial aspects of a project, the decisive factors remain its content and artistic value. Since the Fund started in 1988, close to 900 projects from independent filmmakers in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America have received support. Approximately 80% of these projects have been realised or are currently in production. Every year, the IFFR screens completed films supported by the Fund.
Grants and selection rounds
Annually, the Hubert Bals Fund has close to €1.2 million at its disposal and is able to make individual grants of up to €10,000 for script and project development, €20,000 for digital production, €30,000 for post-production, €10,000 for workshops or €15,000 towards distribution costs in the country of origin. Selection rounds take place twice a year, with application deadlines on March 1 and August 1.
Hubert Bals Fund Plus
Additionally, in order to offer Dutch producers the possibility to get involved more often in international productions, and to support the ‘Hubert Bals Fund projects’ in the stage of actual production, the Hubert Bals Fund Plus has been set up by the Dutch Film Fund and the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Since 2006 the Dutch Film Fund has annually made € 200.000 available for the Hubert Bals Fund Plus. Applications can be granted with a maximum of € 50.000.
Boost!
As of 2011, the HBF has joined forces with IFFR’s CineMart and Binger Filmlab in organising a special coaching trajectory for HBF supported projects. Each year, 5 projects selected for HBF Script and Project Development support are offered the opportunity to further develop their project at Binger Filmlab, as part of their Binger On Demand programme. At Binger Filmlab, the filmmakers are offered coaching – based on the specific needs of the project and filmmaker – focused on the further development of their film projects. During the IFFR, the 5 Boost! projects will then be presented at the CineMart, the festival’s co-production market, where they will be offered special pitching and project development sessions prior to taking one-to-on meetings at the market. The first Boost! projects will be selected after the 2011 HBF Spring selection round and will be presented at the CineMart in January 2012.
Training, workshops, the Hubert Bals Fund Award
The Fund can support training initiatives for filmmakers all over the world. Workshops have been supported in for instance Ethiopia, Vietnam and Costa Rica. In Armenia, India and the Philippines, the Hubert Bals Fund has participated in co-production meetings. On these occasions, Hubert Bals Fund Awards are granted to the most promising film projects.
Hubert Bals Fund supported films at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Dioraphte Award
Each edition, the International Film Festival Rotterdam screens a large part of the year's harvest of completed films supported by the fund. Hubert Bals Fund supported films may be selected in Competition or in the main sections Bright Future, Spectrum or Signals. Every Hubert Bals Fund supported film screening in the festival is eligible for the Dioraphte Award of 10.000 Euro. The winning film will be the one receiving the highest ranking in the audience votes.
Read more about the harvest
here.
Hubert Bals Fund supported films at major international film festivals
Over the years, the interest for HBF supported films steadily increased. Many international film festivals keep a close eye on completed HBF supported films and select them for their programmes. Each year, HBF supported films are screened at, among others, the Cannes, Venice, Locarno, Toronto and Pusan film festivals.
The Hubert Bals Fund is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dutch non-governmental development organisations Hivos, the DOEN Foundation and the Dioraphte Foundation.