As political conflicts grow around the world, major film festivals have rallied around displaced filmmakers. Amidst this movement, the Rotterdam Film Festival stands out as a particularly safe place for such creatives, given the festival’s foundational mission of platforming voices at risk. But how can industry-focused platforms and markets tap into that mission? That’s a key question for Head of IFFR Pro Marten Rabarts and Head of the Hubert Bals Fund, Tamara Tatishvili, as the duo gears up for another edition of the Dutch festival.
Displacement has further strengthened the relationship between the market and the fund, resulting in key initiatives delivered and managed within both. HBF has supported the Cate Blanchett-spearheaded Displacement Film Fund, which has just premiered its first batch of short films, including a new work by “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” director Mohammad Rasoulof. Launched last year, the fund will now move into a second round of grants.
This year also introduces Safe Harbor, IFFR’s new market program to lift up projects in development from emerging displaced filmmakers who face limited access to professional networks, funding pathways and development opportunities. The initiative is delivered in collaboration with the International Emerging Film Talent Fund (IEFTF).
Speaking with Variety ahead of the Pro activities kicking off in Rotterdam, Rabarts recalls how upsetting it was to feel “the world was on fire” while delivering the festival last year. “It became about: How do we support filmmakers? A year has gone by, and things have just gotten worse. It was clear to us in our selection that shining a spotlight on those stories was a strong parameter.”
Safe Harbor came as an answer to that question, with IFFR Pro foregoing a minimum funding request, which usually revolved between 20% and 25%, as the team realized it “was not a possibility for people dealing with displacement. “We decided to drop the barriers and let our displaced filmmakers stand tall with their talent and story. The projects we are supporting in the inaugural edition of Safe Harbor are extremely complementary to the Displacement Film Fund’s ambitions.”
Mohammad Rasoulof (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
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Tatishvili makes a point of stating that these are all “informed moves,” not just talk around “big objectives.” “We’re experimenting and innovating because you can’t work the same model for 50 years. The mission should be the same, but the tools and partnerships need to evolve.”
Working with filmmakers at risk, however, brings a series of added logistical barriers. In this sense, both Martens and Tatishvili are particularly grateful for the malleability of their programs, and being able to develop and deliver initiatives at speeds that are not standard for major funders and markets elsewhere.
“One of the strengths of a fund like ours and our ecosystem is that we can be more flexible than many other financiers,” says Tatishvili. “In many other roles, where the legal framework is more important, we would not be able to do some of those films. We had to be very agile. With many of these projects, we had to take serious security issues into account.”
Martens mentions how the Pro team has worked closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure a Sudanese filmmaker could attend the festival this year. “We’ve been really pleased to have the support of government agencies. The inner logic of HBF and Pro launching Safe Harbor is not disconnected from Rotterdam being one of the founding members of the International Coalition of Filmmakers at Risk, an important organization that supports filmmakers living and working through conflict.”
Elsewhere in the agenda this year, Martens points out how IFFR Pro has more projects than “possibly ever.” “There are 21 cinema projects, eight projects in the Darkroom, eight in Lightroom, and four in Safe Harbor — 41 projects we’re bringing to the market. There’s something for everyone.” Selected projects include new films by “Samsara” director Lois Patiño (“Adarna”) and “Aisha Can’t Fly Away” helmer Morad Mostafa (“Animals”).
The exec emphasizes a desire to “reboot the market’s connection to the U.S. indie world,” bringing up Cinemart-selected project “The Dispute” by Andrea Ellsworth and Kasey Elise Walker as an example of that effort. “What does it mean for a young African American woman to be making a film in the U.S. right now? We had Cheryl Dunye here last year, a wonderful Black lesbian filmmaker who came to Europe to fund her next feature because, even though she’s been working on all the A-list series, she couldn’t find support for her next project in the U.S.”
The head of Pro also saw a strong return from Southeast Asian projects. “There is a renaissance of co-producing with Asia, particularly the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. These countries have started to work together. You see quite a few of them in our selection, looking for those final pieces of the co-production puzzle. It’s an exciting new development that we can play a role in something that is already happening organically in the region.”
A tendency seen in the market over recent years is the increased number of partners required to secure funding for a co-production. Asked how IFFR Pro is adapting to accommodate this changing reality, Martens quips: “We are making bigger tables!”
“I hope we are helping normalize that so it is understood as the new normal, given the circumstances of how films are funded these days,” he adds. “It’s a global phenomenon, and we’re just putting the infrastructure in place for it.”
“The Secret Agent”
Courtesy Everett Collection
Tatishvili adds that “with right-wing governments rising in Europe, funds are not as rich as they used to be.” This has led to new partnerships, including HBF+Brazil: Co-Development Support, delivered in partnership with RioFilme, Spcine and Projeto Paradiso, and dedicated to supporting the early development of projects by second- and third-time filmmakers from Brazil.
The head of the fund also highlights the importance of having high-profile alumni like Kleber Mendonça Filho return to the festival with an Oscar-nominated film like “The Secret Agent.” “They are happy to pass the knowledge forward,” she says. “That’s the best thing, because it’s absolutely not given that HBF will exist forever. I’m very blunt in telling this to filmmakers: if you want to have this type of flexible funding that really listens to your needs, tell the story of our impact. When I go out fundraising, the strength of my pitch is the filmmakers who made a career out of our support.”
