Tamara Tatishvili appointed new Head of the Hubert Bals Fund

Tamara Tatishvili by Elene Mikaberidze

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has appointed Tamara Tatishvili as the new Head of the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF), the festival’s film fund. Tatishvili has extensive experience across many areas of the international film industry as a strategy consultant, leader, producer and programmer.

Amongst a host of notable positions, Tatishvili worked for several years as Director of the Georgian National Film Center and is currently Head of Studies at MEDICI, a training and exchange forum for senior decision makers of international public film funds. 

She will take up the position heading the Hubert Bals Fund following the departure of its previous Head, Bianca Taal. Also comprising the HBF team are Manager Jeske van der Slikke who will shortly be taking maternity leave and Coordinator Ayumi Filippone, who takes over until March 2024 in van der Slikke’s absence. 

Tamara Tatishvili, incoming Head of the HBF said: “I'm thrilled to start a new chapter in my career, building on the HBF's long-standing legacy of championing global storytellers who boldly push cinematic boundaries within challenging contexts and environments. Throughout my career, I've seen first-hand the profound impact of strategic funding in regions with limited resources and restricted creative freedoms. I’m looking forward to ensuring HBF continues to amplify the voices of filmmakers whilst sharpening its focus on supporting inclusive narratives that can captivate and provoke.”

Vanja Kaludjercic, IFFR's Festival Director said: "We are delighted to announce that Tamara Tatishvili has been appointed as the new Head of HBF. With her exceptional business acumen and visionary thinking, we are confident she is the perfect choice to lead HBF into a promising future. Her expertise will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in strengthening HBF's position and driving its development in the years ahead."

About the Hubert Bals Fund

Since 1988 the HBF has supported groundbreaking film projects in every stage of the production process, working especially with filmmakers from countries where local film funding and infrastructure is lacking or restrictive. 

Supported titles are regularly celebrated on the international stage. This year, Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés won awards at both Berlin and Durban for her debut Tótem. Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu’s Tiger Stripes won the Grand Prix at Cannes’s Semaine de la Critique, Indian filmmaker Saurav Rai won a Special Jury Prize at Karlovy Vary for Guras, and Georgian filmmaker Elene Naveriani won Best Feature at Sarajevo with Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry. Mongolian filmmaker Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir’s feature debut City of Wind had its world premiere in Venice’s Orizzonti competition.

About Tamara Tatishvili

Tamara combines solid experience of international funding and promotion strategies with strong passion for talent curation & programming. She worked for several years as Director of the Georgian National Film Center (2010-2013) – the public institution that sets Georgian film policy. 

Prior to that, Tamara co-founded and served as an Executive Director of the “Independent Filmmakers’ Association – South Caucasus” (IFA-SC). She managed three offices of the Association – leading local teams and ensuring multi-stakeholder industry activities. 

Since 2014 Tamara has been based in Brussels and works as an international industry consultant, combining various projects in leadership, strategy and industry insights. She acted as Strategy & Partnerships Manager for European Women’s Audiovisual Network and curated high-level industry conference CINEMA BACKSTAGE for Odessa International Film Festival in Ukraine. She is a regular consultant at BOZAR’s Bridges East of West Film Days in Belgium and is often invited as a moderator of high-profile industry events. 

Since February 2020 Tamara is Head of Studies of FOCAL’s programme MEDICI – The Film Funding Journey – an annual vocational training designed for senior public financiers internationally.