2024 Hubert Bals Fund’s HBF+Europe: Erige Sehiri, Danielle Arbid & Ala Eddine Slim Projects Get Coin
Ten projects are the latest to be awarded by the Hubert Bals Fund’s HBF+Europe support schemes. Ten projects in all are receiving coin and among them we have an Anonymous project, plus the latest from Erige Sehiri, Danielle Arbid and Ala Eddine Slim. Several of these will be considered for the upcoming Locarno and Venice Film Festivals. Under the Fig Trees‘ Erige Sehiri looks at a community in Tunisia and the dilemmas that arise from welcoming a refugee child in Marie & Jolie. Danielle Arbid’s love story titled Love Conquers All is set in Beirut and tells thee tale of a young undocumented Sudanese migrant and an older local woman (Hiam Abbas). Tlamess filmmaker Ala Eddine Slim is pretty much ready with his thriller, Agora. Here are the ten HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support selections for 2024:
Amoeba dir. Siyou Tan, Singapore, Netherlands, France, Spain
Lead producer: Akanga Film Asia (Singapore)
Applicant producer: Volya Films (Netherlands)
In a repressive city-state, a tomboy schoolgirl persuades three classmates at an all-girls school to rebel by forming a triad gang.
As Shadows Fade dir. Burcu Aykar, Turkey, Germany, Netherlands, Norway
Lead producer: Liman Film (Turkey)
Applicant producer: Isabella Films (Netherlands)
Trapped by the Turkish heteronormative family ideal, Esin lives unaware of her passions. When she falls for the fiery, playful Deniz, a distant family friend who takes refuge in their house, she discovers the possibility of a genuine life. Their intimacy pushes her to transcend her boundaries.
Hijas únicas dir. Alba Gaviraghi, Chile, Argentina, Germany
Lead producer: Agosto Cine (Chile)
Applicant producer: Nabis Films (Germany)
Santiago, 2006. Student protests explode in the streets, reggaeton vibrates in the disco, and in the middle of it all: Antonia (15) with her classmates preparing their dream school trip to Bariloche. A journey that will force Antonia to search for a father she doesn’t know and eventually discover the truth about her mother.
Love Conquers All dir. Danielle Arbid, Lebanon, France
Lead producer: Abbott Productions (Lebanon)
Applicant producer: Easy Riders Films (France)
Suzanne, a 65-year-old widow, meets Osmane one rainy night in Beirut. He’s 25, black, Sudanese, an immigrant worker. She’s white, Palestinian born in Lebanon, twice his age. They fall in love.
Marie & Jolie dir. Erige Sehiri, France, Tunisia
Lead producer: Henia Production (Tunisia)
Applicant producer: Maneki Films (France)
Three Ivorian women, Marie (42), Naney (27) and Jolie (23), live together in Tunis in a home that also serves as a restaurant in the evening and an evangelical church during the day. Their decision to welcome Kenza (4), a child rescued from the desert, leads these three women to question their places in this blended family and in this country in crisis.
El mundo es nuestro dir. Francisco Márquez, Argentina, Brazil, France
Lead producer: Pensar con las Manos (Argentina)
Application producer: Altamar Films (France)
Osmar and his family move to a rural community seeking a better life. As he connects spiritually with the land, he discovers the power of time travel, using it to lead a resistance against police eviction and reclaim their home.
Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul dir. Bruno Santamaría, Mexico, Denmark, France, Brasil
Lead producer: Ojo de Vaca (Mexico)
Applicant producer: Snowglobe (Denmark)
Mexico City, 1996. When Bruno turns 12 his parents take him to the shooting of Romeo + Juliet. Bruno gets a crush on Romeo, and on his best friend Vladimir. When Bruno’s father is diagnosed with HIV, Vladimir stops talking to him. After six months, the diagnosis turns out to be a mistake from the hospital. His father won’t die.
Anonymous project
HBF+Europe: Post-production Support selection 2024
Agora dir. Ala Eddine Slim, Tunisia, France, Saudi Arabia
Lead producer: Exit Films (Tunisia)
Applicant producer: Cinenovo (France)
The return of three missing persons to their hometown will upset the established order. The news must be kept quiet, but the plot thickens and several people become involved. All this takes place in the imaginary dream of a blue bitch and a black crow.
Olivia dir. Sofía Petersen, Argentina, UK, Spain
Lead producer: Animitas (Argentina)
Applicant producer: Vitrine Filmes (Spain)
Alone in the mountains; Olivia, her father, and their home. By the foothills, a slaughterhouse, where Father works. When Father disappears Olivia descends the mountains in his search.
