The Hubert Bals Fund of theInternational Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has granted a total of $444,180(Euros 353,000) to 24 film projects and initiatives from developing countries.

Grants for script andproject development went to established film-makers including Paraguay's PazEncina and Romania's Cristian Mungiu. Post-production funding went tofilm-makers including Brazil's Paulo Caldas and Malaysia's Woo Ming Jin.

As previously announced, theFund has established new grants up to $24,980 (Euros 20,000) for digitalproductions. The first four projects in this category are Ho Yuhang's At TheEnd Of The Daybreak from Malaysia ; Liew Seng Tat's In What City Does It Live'from Malaysia ; Khavn De La Cruz's Mondomanila from the Philippines; and Wang Liren'sWeed from China.

The Hubert Bals Fund, withannual grants of about $1.5m (Euros 1.2m) started in 1988 and is supported bythe Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dutch non-governmental developmentorganisations Hivos and NCDO, the DOEN Foundation and Dutch public broadcastingnetwork NPS.

The full list of autumn 2006recipients:

Script and projectdevelopment
4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days (4 luni, 3 saptamini si 2 zile) by Cristian Mungiu, Romania
Absences (Ausencias) by MilagrosMumenthaler, Argentina
Black Game (Baziye Syah) byMohammad Shirvani, Iran
The Beauty of Childhood by PazEncina, Paraguay
The Ashes (Las Cenizas) by Rauldel Busto, Peru
Dancing at the Checkpoint byIsmail el Habbash, Palestine
Promise (Elelwani) by NtshaveniWa Luruli, South Africa
Ganges by Ernesto Baca, Argentina
The Sparrow (Jao Nok Krajok) byAnocha Suwichakornpong, Thailand

Digital production
At the End of Daybreak by HoYuhang, Malaysia
In What City Does It Live' byLiew Seng Tat, Malaysia
Mondomanila: How I fixed my Hair after a rather long Journey by Khavn De LaCruz, Philippines
Weed by Wang Liren, China

Post-production
Balibayan Box by Ramon Mes DeGuzman, Philippines
Bonded Parallels by HovhannesGalstyan, Armenia
Happy Desert (Deserto Feliz) byPaulo Caldas, Brazil
The History of Pink Elephants byWoo Ming Jin, Malaysia
Kayan...ceci n'est pas un film byChadi Zeneddine, Lebanon
A Wandering Girlfriend (Una novia errante) by Ana Katz, Argentina

Distribution
The Cleansing Rites (Suddha) by PN Ramchandra, India

Workshops
Fundacion TyPa , Argentina
Recitel, Togo

Hubert Bals Fund Awards
The Cinelink Hubert Bals Fund Award (Euros 10,000) at the SarajevoInternational Film Festival 2006 was awarded to The Day the Winter Began by Nedzad Begovic, Bosnia Herzegovina.
A Euros 10,000 Fund Award will also be given at the forthcoming JakartaInternational Film Festival

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