Bals Fund Plus gives $317,000 to bring on Dutch co-producers

The Hubert Bals Fund Plus initiative, from the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Netherlands Film Fund, is granting a total of $317,470 (Euros 200,000) for Dutch co-producers on new films.

Dutch companies Isabella Films, IDTV Motel Films, Waterland Film and Volya Films will each receive $79,360 (Euros 50,000) to each co-produce a specific film from Costa Rica, China, Mexico and Kyrgyzstan.

The Hubert Bals Fund Plus programme was started in 2006 to get Dutch producers involved with films already supported by the Bals Fund in terms of script and development support.

This year's selections are Paz Fabrega's Cold Sea (Agua Fria De Mar), produced by Costa Rica's Temporal Films with co-producers Isabella Films (Netherlands), Les Films du Requin (France), Tic Tac (Spain) and Pimenta (Mexico). The film is about a young woman from a privileged background who meets a strange little girl that inspires a crisis in her life.

China's Shu Haolun will make Black & White Photos (Hei Bai Zhao Pian) with Chinese/French producer Les Petites Lumieres and co-producer IDTV Motel of The Netherlands. That story is a story of sexual awakening set in 1989 China.

Friction (Friccion) by Michel Lipkes will be prodcued by Mexico's Mantarraya and Axolote with Dutch co-producers Waterland. The story follows a lonely man who kidnaps a couple.

Aktan Arym Kubat's The Light will see Dutch co-producer Volya Films joining the Kyrgyz project along with ASAP Films (France), Pallas Films (Germany), Man's Films (Belgium) and VVISS Films (Russia). The film is about an electrician who brings light (not just literally) to ordinary people in the post-Soviet society.

The first two films to come out of Hubert Bals Fund Plus were Huseyin Karabey's festival multiple award winner My Marlon and Brando (Gitmek) and Annemarie Jacir's Salt Of This Sea (Milh Hadha Al-Bahr). The former was co-produced by IDTV/Mmotel and the latter co-produced by Augustus Films.

The Netherlands Film Fund has made $317,470 (Euros 200,000) available for Hubert Bals Fund Plus for 2006, 2007 and 2008.