International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) has selected eight feature film projects for its 2026 HBF+Europe support schemes worth €60,000 each.
The HBF+Europe funding schemes, supported by the Creative Europe Media programme, encourage European producers to participate as a co-producer in film projects by filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe.
Five of the projects have been awarded through HBF’s minority co-production support scheme and three through its post-production support scheme.
The selection includes support for Un Certain Regard-winning filmmaker Asmae El Moudir and Sundance winner Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan. It also includes notable support for projects from Kosovo and Armenia as well as returning HBF- and CineMart-supported titles including Nightsong by Maya Da-Rin and Four Seasons In Java by Kamila Andini.
Moroccan filmmaker El Moudir was backed for hybrid documentary feature Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me, which follows a community of young adults living with xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare genetic disease that makes sunlight life-threatening. El Moudir’s debut film The Mother Of All Lies won best director in Un Certain Regard and the Golden Eye best documentary prize at Cannes 2023.
Filipino filmmaker Eblahan was backed for his feature debut Hum, a subversive western set in the highlands of the Philippines. It’s about a native horse rider with the ability to mimic animal sounds, who guides an animal linguist tasked with tracking down an eco-terrorist. Eblahan’s short The Headhunter’s Daughter won the grand jury prize at Sundance 2022.
Kosovo filmmaker Kaltrina Krasniqi received support for Bleach, following two women from vastly different social worlds whose paths cross through work. Previously backed with HBF Development Support, the female-led project marks Krasniqi’s second feature after Vera Dreams Of The Sea premiered in Venice Horizons in 2021.
Among recipients of post-production support is documentary Zemfo by Vahagn Khachatryan and Aren Malakyan, which was shot between 2020 and 2023 in Armenia, Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan. It follows the journey of a calf of the same name as a lens through which to examine migration, displacement and survival. The pair’s debut feature 5 Dreamers And A Horse premiered at Visions du Réel in 2022.
Past recipients of the HBF+Europe scheme include Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar’s IFFR 2026 Tiger award winner Variations On A Theme, and Danielle Arbid’s Only Rebels Win, which opened the Panorama section at this year’s Berlinale.
“These results reflect what targeted co-funding supported by Creative Europe can achieve,” said HBF head Tamara Tatishvili. “In this new selection, we are particularly proud to support a project from Kosovo via their Bulgarian applicant producer – part of a growing engagement from low production capacity countries that we are pleased to encourage.”
HBF+Europe: Minority co-production support selection 2026
Bleach, dir. Kaltrina Krasniqi (Kos-Bul-Alb-Mont)
Applicant producer: Portokal (Bul)
After getting a new job as a cleaner in an advertising agency, Fatime starts exploring the possibility of friendship outside her social class.
Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me, dir. Asmae El Moudir (Mor-Fr-Nor-Den-Chile)
Applicant producer: Haut et Court Doc (Fr)
Condemned to a life away from the sun, Fatimazahra lived at night with the “Children of the Moon”. After her passing, her sister Meriem carries forward her dreams, creating a refuge, nurturing a close-knit community, and venturing into the polar night.
Hum, dir. Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (Phil-US-Pol-Ger)
Applicant producer: Oma Inge Film (Ger)
Esme, a native horse rider gifted with the rare ability to mimic animal sounds, guides Professor Arceo, an animal linguist tasked with tracking down an eco-terrorist in the forest.
The Last Tears Of The Deceased, dir. Beza Hailu Lemma (Eth-Can-Ger-Fr)
Applicant producer: Die Gesellschaft (Ger)
A newly ordained priest sets off on a dreamlike journey across Ethiopia to uncover the truth about his childhood, facing revelations that could unravel his faith.
Nightsong, dir. Maya Da-Rin (Bra-Fr-Port)
Applicant producer: Still Moving (Fr)
On a monoculture soybean farm in southern Brazil, the friendship between a peasant child and an elderly Guarani native woman is affected by the appearance of an unknown plant resistant to pesticides.
HBF+Europe: Post-production support selection 2026
Dear Ajayi, dir. Damilola Orimogunje (Nigeria-Ger)
Applicant producer: Mayana Films (Ger)
In 1990s Nigeria, two estranged sisters forced to live under the same roof while caring for their paralysed mother navigate grief, ambition, love and the fragile bonds of family.
Four Seasons In Java, dir. Kamila Andini (Indo-Fr-Neth-Nor)
Applicant producer: Ici et Là Productions (Fr)
A woman released from prison returns to her village to rebuild her life. Together with the marginalised, she finds the power to confront her past and redefine her own meaning of home, family and peace.
Zemfo, dirs. Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan (Armenia-It-Switz)
Applicant producer: Okta Film (It)
In a village of the Nagorno-Karabakh region amidst the chaos of the Armenian and Azerbaijani war, a cow gives birth to a calf, Zemfo. As villagers pack their belongings and flee their homes, Zemfo is sold to Iranian animal dealers and begins a voyage from Armenia to Iraqi Kurdistan through Iran, crossing ever-shifting borders and human landscapes.
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