The Hubert Bals Fund is designed to help remarkable or urgent feature films by innovative and talented filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe on their road to completion. It 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 to grant support remain the content and artistic value. Since the founding of the Fund in 1989, more than 1.000 projects of independent filmmakers have received support. Approximately 80% of these projects have been realised or are currently in production. Every year, IFFR screens the majority of completed films supported by the Fund.

The HBF offers several funding schemes: early on for script and project development, or later on for production. Filmmakers with a project in early development can apply for Script and Project Development Support in two sub-categories: Bright Future for first and second-time filmmakers, and Voices for filmmakers more advanced in their career. With the support of the Creative Europe-MEDIA programme of the European Union, minority co-production support is offered to European producers within the framework of HBF+Europe. Dutch producers can apply for co-production funding through the NFF+HBF Co-production Scheme, a collaboration with the Netherlands Film Fund.

Updated Geographical Focus

In January 2017 the HBF announced its updated geographical focus. In January 2018 the HBF published a conclusive list that includes all eligible countries.

– The HBF provides support to talented filmmakers from countries listed on the HBF list of eligible countries. This list still includes all countries mentioned on the DAC-list of the OECD and has been expanded slightly, among others with certain countries ranking low on the World Free Press Index;

– The HBF will also provide support to feature films by filmmakers from a country on the HBF list of eligible countries, who are living in diaspora (e.g. dual nationality, refugee status or residency permit) in a non-eligible country. Please note priority is given to films that are majority shot in an eligible country.

Script and Project Development Support:

– HBF Script and Project Development Bright Future (max. €10.000 per project): A special call for feature films by first- and second-time filmmakers. Applications can be submitted twice a year.

– HBF Script and Project Development Voices (max. €10.000 per project): A special scheme for feature films by filmmakers more advanced in their career. Selection criteria include verifiable interest from potential co-producers, sales agents and/or distributors.

The NFF+HBF Co-development Scheme

The Netherlands Film Fund now also finances international film projects with a contribution in the Script and Project Development scheme. Therefore, the HBF is empowered to support ten more projects each year within the Script and Project Development scheme, equally divided between HBF Bright Future and HBF Voices. This NFF+HBF Co-development scheme complements the existing successful NFF+HBF Co-production scheme, which already supports Dutch minority co-productions for over 10 years.

How does it work? After the Hubert Bals Fund has selected the projects for the Script and Project Development scheme, the projects among the selection with the most co-production potential will be supported by the NFF+HBF Co-development scheme. However, the handling will be done by the HBF and the conditions, selection procedure and awarded grant aren’t different.

The Netherlands Film Fund sets available an amount of € 200.000 for the NFF+HBF scheme per year. Dutch producers can be awarded a maximum of € 50.000 production support in order to co-produce a film that has received a script development grant by the HBF.

Commitment to Benelux distribution

To guarantee that HBF-supported films reach an audience within the Benelux territory, IFFR becomes the ‘custodian’ of the Benelux distribution rights of all films supported by the Hubert Bals Fund as of 2017. This means that the Benelux rights remain with the legal rights-holder, but IFFR will collaborate with Benelux distributors in the release of the film and/or release the film through its own channels (e.g. IFFR.com/Unleashed).

HBF Postproduction Support

The Dutch Post-production Awards are a collaboration between the Netherlands Film Fund, the Hubert Bals Fund, and the Netherlands Post production Alliance.

Projects previously supported by one of the HBF schemes can be submitted. From these submissions, up to six projects will be invited to pitch their projects and/or show work-in-progress at the closed Dutch Post-production Session during International Film Festival Rotterdam. Based on these pitches, a jury will award two projects with a cash prize of €50,000, and a surplus of €5,000 in kind, to be spent on post-production in the Netherlands.

HBF+Europe

HBF+Europe offers minority co-production support to European producers to participate in high-quality feature films by talented filmmakers from countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe.

The scheme has a special spotlight on first and second feature films, but is also open to films by filmmakers more advanced in their career. The funding is designed for international co-productions, in which at least one European and one non-European producer is involved. The European producer should be the applicant and will conclude the funding agreement. Only 25% of the HBF+Europe funding has to be spent in Europe, the other 75% can be spent elsewhere. The scheme is especially designed to encourage European producers from countries with limited co-production schemes to participate. The maximum amount awarded per project is €50.000.