Hubert Bals Fund supports 24 film projects in Fall 2006 Selection Round

36th International Film Festival Rotterdam
January 24 – February 4, 2007

PRESS RELEASE October 26, 2006

Hubert Bals Fund supports 24 film projects in Fall 2006 Selection Round

The Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) grants a total of € 353,000 to 24 film projects and initiatives from developing countries. In its new grant category of digital video production, the fund has selected four projects. The Fall 2006 Selection includes projects of first time feature film makers Anocha Suwichakornpong (Thailand) and Chadi Zeneddine (Lebanon) as well as projects by established talents like Ntshaveni Wa Luruli (South Africa) and Cristian Mungiu (Romania).

In the post production category, the Hubert Bals Fund supports the film BONDED PARALLELS by Hovhannes Galstyan, a feature film début evoking the life of a female teacher in contemporary Armenia. HAPPY DESERT by Paulo Caldas (Brazil) follows a girl struggling to make a living in Recife following an abusive youth. Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jin focuses in THE HISTORY OF PINK ELEPHANTS on three characters, already leading marginal and semi-criminal lives, reconstructing their lives after the tsunami.

The grants upto a maximum of 20,000 Euros in the new production category, are meant for low budget digital feature productions from developing countries. The first four projects to receive support in this new category are from Ho Yuhang and Liew Seng Tat (Malaysia), Khavn De La Cruz (Philippines) and Wang Liren (China).

Well known independent filmmakers selected to receive grants for script and project development are, among others, Mohammad Shirvani from Iran (NAVEL, PRESIDENT MIR QANBAR), Paz Encina (PARAGUAYAN HAMMOCK), Ntshaveni Wa Luruli (CHICKIN BIZNIS, THE WOODEN CAMERA) from South Africa and Cristian Mungiu (OCCIDENT) from Romania.


The line up of the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund Fall 2006 Selection Round in full:


Script and project development

4 LUNI, 3 SAPTAMINI SI 2 ZILE (4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS) by Cristian Mungiu, Romania
AUSENCIAS (ABSENCES) by Milagros Mumenthaler, Argentina
BAZIYE SYAH (BLACK GAME) by Mohammad Shirvani, Iran
THE BEAUTY OF CHILDHOOD by Paz Encina, Paraguay
LAS CENIZAS (THE ASHES) by Raúl del Busto, Peru
DANCING AT THE CHECKPOINT by Ismail el Habbash, Palestine
ELELWANI (PROMISE) by Ntshaveni Wa Luruli, South Africa
GANGES by Ernesto Baca, Argentina
JAO NOK KRAJOK (THE SPARROW) by Anocha Suwichakornpong, Thailand


Digital production

AT THE END OF DAYBREAK by Ho Yuhang, Malaysia
IN WHAT CITY DOES IT LIVE? by Liew Seng Tat, Malaysia
MONDOMANILA: HOW I FIXED MY HAIR AFTER A RATHER LONG JOURNEY by Khavn De La Cruz, Philippines
WEED by Wang Liren, China


Post-production

BALIBAYAN BOX by Ramon Mes De Guzman, Philippines
BONDED PARALLELS by Hovhannes Galstyan, Armenia
DESERTO FELIZ (HAPPY DESERT) by Paulo Caldas, Brazil
THE HISTORY OF PINK ELEPHANTS by Woo Ming Jin, Malaysia
KAYAN...CEÇI N'EST PAS UN FILM by Chadi Zeneddine, Lebanon
UNA NOVIA ERRANTE (A WANDERING GIRLFRIEND) by Ana Katz, Argentina


Distribution

SUDDHA (THE CLEANSING RITES) by PN Ramchandra, India


Workshops

Fundación TyPa, Argentina

Recitel, Togo


Hubert Bals Fund Awards

August 2006
The Cinelink Hubert Bals Fund Award (Euro 10,000) for most promising film project at the Sarajevo International Film Festival 2006 was awarded to THE DAY THE WINTER BEGAN by Nedzad Begovic, Bosnia Herzegovina.


November 2006
During JIFFest (Jakarta International Film Festival, Indonesia) a Hubert Bals Fund Award (Euro 10,000) will be awarded to the most promising film project.

(end of line up)


Profile of the Hubert Bals Fund
Along with CineMart, the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) is part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The 36th IFFR will take place January 24 – February 4, 2007. Year-round news on IFFR, HBF and CineMart can be found on the festival website www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com.

The Hubert Bals Fund is designed to bring remarkable or urgent feature films and feature-length creative documentaries 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 1989, close to 600 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.

The Hubert Bals Fund is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dutch non-governmental development organisations Hivos and NCDO, the DOEN Foundation and Dutch public broadcasting network NPS.

Grants and selection rounds
Annually, the Hubert Bals Fund has close to Euro 1.2 million at its disposal and is able to make individual grants of up to Euro 10,000 for script and project development, Euro 30,000 for post-production or Euro 15,000 towards distribution costs in the country of origin. Selection rounds take place twice a year and have application deadlines on March 1 and August 1.

Training, workshops, the Hubert Bals Fund Award
The Fund also support special projects, such as training initiatives for filmmakers in developing countries. At the Jakarta, Sarajevo, Manila and Tunis film festivals or markets, the Hubert Bals Fund participates in script workshops. On these occasions, Hubert Bals Fund Awards of Euro 10,000 are granted to the most promising film projects.


(end of press release)

For more information, please contact:
IFFR Press Office, Bert-Jan Zoet
Tel +31.10.890.90.90
Fax +31.10.890.90.91
Email [email protected]
Festival website: www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com