The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) has unveiled its selection of 20 projects to receive a grant of €10,000 ($11,515) each under its flagship Development Support Scheme 2026. The figure marks an increase of a third over the 15 projects supported in 2025.
Out of the 2026 projects, eight have been selected following a regional focus on Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. They include the first project that the HBF has supported from North Macedonia, namely Short Tiger award winner Anka Gujabidze’s debut feature, Bakhmaro – Invisible Formula. They also include two projects each from Ukraine and Serbia “amid their political crisis,” the HBF noted.“In times where development funding is increasingly under threat, it’s remarkable that we’ve been able to increase our grant allocation,” said Tamara Tatishvili, head of the Hubert Bals Fund. “This includes a welcome regional focus on Southeast Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, ensuring our support reaches areas typically underrepresented in funding decisions.”
She also emphasized: “The selection carries a strong IFFR alumni presence and reflects an incredible breadth of contemporary filmmaking – distinctive voices expressing their artistic freedom, whatever the context. None of this would be possible without our partners, new and old, who help us to offer this early support to the world’s most promising filmmaking talent.” Among the IFFR alumni in the selection beyond Gujabidze are Dean Wei with The Apple Doesn’t Fall, Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy with Deus Ex Machina, Mina Đukić with Murmur, Philip Sotnychenko with Carousel, Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi with Lady Pearl, as well as Tomás Espaillat and Nika Zhukova with Donde Duermen Las Abejas. Other grant recipients include Pepe director Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias and the director of Mongolia’s 2024 international Oscar submission, City of Wind, Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir.
