The Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) selected eleven film projects from countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East for its Script and Project Development scheme. Categorised in two sections, HBF Bright Future and HBF Voices, they will receive a €72,500 grant in total. John Trengove's The Wound [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] and Lukas Valenta Rinner's A Decent Woman [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lukas Valenta Rinner
scheda film] are selected for the HBF+Europe: Distribution Support scheme and receive a contribution of €30,000 to the distribution of the film. The Creative Europe - MEDIA programme of the European Union supports the Grant provision.

The fund supports nine debut, second and third time filmmakers within the HBF Bright Future scheme. Two projects are supported in the HBF Voices section, which supports feature films by filmmakers more advanced in their careers. Worth noting, the eleven backed projects feature work by award winning filmmakers such as Hivos Tiger Award winner Jakrawal Nilthamrong (Vanishing Point, IFFR '15), Bright Future Award winner Melisa Liebenthal (Las lindas, IFFR '16) and Paz Encina (FIPRESCI Award at Cannes Un Certain Regard '06 for Hamaca paraguaya [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]) - currently developing a 3D-project.

Head of IFFR PRO, Marit van den Elshout highlights: "The HBF fall 2017 selection is an eclectic mix of smaller new projects, projects partly developed at other places that are having difficulty finding finance for further development and projects that will certainly find European co-production partners in a next phase."

The projects selected:

Script & Project Development: Bright Future

Anatomy of Time - Jakrawal Nilthamrong (Thailand)
Cu Li Never Cries - Lan Pham Ngoc (Vietnam/Germany)
El rostro de la medusa - Melisa Liebenthal (Argentina)
La jauría - Andrés Ramírez Pulido (Colombia)
Beginning [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Dea Kulumbegashvili
scheda film] (working title: Naked Sky)- Dea Kulumbegashvili (Georgia)
Ningdu - Lei Lei (Hong Kong)
The French Teacher - Ricardo Alves Jr. (Brazil)
The Whole-Timers - Pooja Gurung, Bibhusan Basnet (Nepal/France)
Yashar - Elvin Adigozel (Azerbaijan/France)

Script & Project Development: Voices

Érami: El monte que es el mundo - Paz Encina (Paraguay)
Zero One One - Mohamad Malas (Syria)

Selection HBF+Europe: Distribution Support Scheme

The Wound [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] - John Trengove (South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France)
Selected for a contribution of €30,000 to the distribution of the film in Brazil, Norway and the United Kingdom.
A Decent Woman [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lukas Valenta Rinner
scheda film] - Lukas Valenta Rinner (Austria/South Korea/Argentina)
Selected for a contribution of €30,000 to the distribution of the film in Latvia, Argentina, Germany and Austria.

The 47th edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam takes place from place from Wednesday 24 January to Sunday 4 February 2018. The IFFR PRO Days (including the 35th CineMart) take place from Saturday 27 January to Wednesday 2 February 2018.