Hubert Bals Fund

Independence Day of Brazil – Sete de Setembro 🇧🇷

Today is a national holiday in Brazil, with celebrations taking place across the country commemorating their independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822.

That's the perfect excuse to remind you of our new collaboration for co-development support in Brazil and the approaching call for submissions. The HBF+Brazil deadline is 15 September, and the call will be officially opened on Monday 8 September when the submission form goes live.

Read more and prepare your application here: https://iffr.com/en/hubert-bals-fund/funding-schemes/hbfbrazil-co-development-support

Film still: Sultry (Mormaço) by Marina Meliande (HBF 2013, IFFR 2018)

Two HBF world premieres at TIFF! 🍁

We're delighted for two HBF-supported filmmakers from Singapore and India who are set to premiere their work at TIFF, starting tomorrow 4 September.

Siyou Tan’s Amoeba follows four rebellious teenage girls forming a gang in Singapore, and Bikas Ranjan Mishra’s Bayaan is a tense drama in which a rookie detective confronts abuse, power and silence.

There's also plenty of North American premieres for HBF-films continuing to impress across the festival circuit.

World premieres:
🇸🇬 Amoeba by Siyou Tan (HBF Development 2022, NFF+HBF Co-production Support 2023, HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support, Dutch co-producer Volya Films) – Discovery programme

🇮🇳 Bayaan by Bikas Ranjan Mishra (HBF Development 2013, CineMart 2013, Darkroom 2025) – Discovery programme

North American premieres:
🇧🇷 The Blue Trail (O último azul) by Gabriel Mascaro (HBF Development 2014, CineMart 2017, NFF+HBF 2020) – Centerpiece programme

🇬🇪 Dry Leaf by Alexandre Koberidze (Darkroom 2025) – Wavelengths

🇺🇸 The Non-Actor by Eliza Barry Callahan (world premiere IFFR 2025 Short & Mid-length) – Short Cuts

🇦🇷 Nuestra Tierra by Lucrecia Martel (HBF Development 2019, NFF+HBF 2020, Dutch Post-production Award 2021) – TIFF Docs programme

🇹🇭 A Useful Ghost by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (HBF+Europe 2023) – Centerpiece programme

Hubert Bals Fund unveils latest support ✨

15 bold and original feature film projects have been selected for the latest round of IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund Development Support scheme – including the Fund's first-ever supported project from Tanzania. Each project will receive a grant of €10,000 to support the next steps in its development.

The HBF continues to champion breakthrough talent and underrepresented voices from around the world – from Cuba to Albania, Indonesia to Rwanda – and several IFFR alumni are supported with their new projects.

Development Support 2025 complete selection:

🇨🇺 Amateur, Carlos Díaz Lechuga, Cuba, Spain
🇬🇷 The Appalling Human Voice of the Animals, Neritan Zinxhiria, Greece, Albania
🇧🇷 Boca da noite, Stephanie Ricci, Brazil
🇸🇳 Coumba, Mamadou Dia, Senegal
🇭🇰 Girl With a Camera, Xiaoxuan Jiang, Hong Kong, China
🇮🇳 The Immigrants, Suman Mukhopadhyay, India
🇹🇿 Last Cow, Amil Shivji, Tanzania, Canada
🇲🇾 Lotus Feet, Amanda Nell Eu, Malaysia
🇲🇾 Moto, Chris Chong Chan Fui, Malaysia
🇲🇿 Mwadia, Inadelso Cossa, Mozambique
🇰🇿 Nobody to See Us, Renata Dzhalo, Kazakhstan, France, Moldova
🇮🇩 Orphaned Atlas, Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, Indonesia
🇸🇾 The Rapture, Farida Baqi, Syria, Lebanon, Germany, Netherlands
🇷🇼 Tears, Moise Ganza, Rwanda
🇮🇳 Where Shadows Wait, Arya Rothe, India, Italy

Read the full selection here: https://iffr.com/en/blog-hbf-development-support-2025