The Hubert Bals Fund - the International Film Festival Rotterdam's fund for supporting filmmakers from developing countries - has announced details of its latest investments. The Fund will invest $589,369 (Euros 435,500) in 33 film projects and initiatives from 23 developing countries.

The Spring 2007 selections of the fund includes many first feature film projects from, among others, Uzbekistan, Costa Rica, Mozambique and Peru. Established independent film-makers He Jianjun (China) and Lav Diaz (The Philippines) are among those receiving post production grants.

In the post production category, the Hubert Bals Fund is offering further backing to I am from Titov Veles by Macedonian filmmaker Teona Mitevska. A CineMart Project in 2005, the film is a tale of sacrifice and abandonment of three sisters in a decrepit industrial town. Mitevska's feature debut, How I Killed a Saint, was selected for Rotterdam's Tiger Awards Competition in 2004. Also receiving backing is To Go by Turkish filmmaker Huseyin Karabey.

Meanwhile, the Fund has also set aside money for low budget digital features. Among the beneficiaries of this new initiative are Adep Akhlak, an absurdist comedy by Kyrgyz filmmaker Marat Alykulov. John Torres (Todo todo teros) has received backing for Moro2moro maharlika 2moro.

The Hubert Bals Fund is also supporting training workshops, among them the Blue Nile Film Academy, a project driven by Abraham Haile Biru (Ethiopia), DOP of Daratt and Abouna. Also selected for a grant, the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda brings together filmmaking talents from East Africa, India and Pakistan.

The line up of the IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund Spring 2007 Selection Round in full:

Script and project development

40 Days of Silence - Saodat Ismailova; Uzbekistan
Agua fria de mar - Paz Fabrega; Costa Rica
The Box - Adrijana Stojkovic; Serbia
A Fold of My Blanket - Zaza Rusadze; Georgia
K and Ali - Pelin Esmer; Turkey
Las malas intenciones - Rosario Garcia Montero; Peru
Margarida - Licinio Azevedo; Mozambique
Metamorphosis - Abu Sayeed; Bangladesh
Rusty Hairpin - David Ngui & Margaret Bong Chew Jen; Malaysia
Tattoo - Wang Liren; China
Ufo in her Eyes - Xiaolu Guo; China
Yo me llamo, historias de call centre - Ruben Plataneo; Argentina

Digital Production

Adep Akhlak - Marat Alykulov; Kyrgystan
Agrarian Utopia - Uruphong Raksasad; Thailand
Moro2moro maharlika 2moro - John Torres; Philippines
Strangers - Charlotte Lay Kuen Lim; Malaysia

Post-production

Fim da Linha (End of the Line) - Gustavo Steinberg; Brazil
Gitmek (To Go) - Hüseyin Karabey; Turkey
I am from Titov Veles - Teona Mitevska; Macedonia
Our Death in Memoriam - Lav Diaz; Philippines
Una semana solos - Celina Murga; Argentina
River People - He Jianjun; China
Valu - Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni; India
Zara - Ayten Mutlu Saray; Kurdistan

Distribution

3 Days to Forever - Riri Riza; Indonesia
Ararat, 14 views - Don Askarian; Armenia
Does It Hurt' - The First Balkan Dogma - Aneta Lesnikovska; Macedonia

Workshops

Blue Nile Film Academy - Abraham Haile Biru, Ethiopia
Cinemanila / Boracay - Amable Tikoy Aguiluz, Philippines
Fundacion TyPa / Costa Rica workshop - Americo Castilla, Argentina/Costa
Rica
Maisha Film Lab - Musarait Kashmiri; Uganda

Hubert Bals Fund Awards

To be awarded July 2007: Hubert Bals Fund Award at DAB-coproduction
forum - Armenia

To be awarded August 2007: Hubert Bals Fund Award at Cinemanila/ Boracay
Meetings - Philippines

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