IFFR Pro

08/10/2026

Rotterdam Lab open call 📣

Are you an emerging producer based in Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) or a European country with low production capacity?

As IFFR Pro’s workshop for international producers approaches its 27th edition at IFFR 2027, we’re once again launching an open call for participation.

The Lab offers emerging professionals the means to build and develop their network, providing confidence and skills to navigate the world of financing, sales and distribution.

A maximum of five spots will be made available for selected producers who fulfil the eligibility requirements.

Apply by 26 October.

Find out more and apply via: https://iffr.com/en/blog-rotterdam-lab-2027-open-call

16/09/2026

Venice Silver Lion for HBF- and CineMart-backed Dau 🦁

Our congratulations to Dau by Ilya Khrzhanovsky who won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival for the CineMart-presented Dau.

Inspired by the Soviet physicists who built the atomic bomb, the epic Dau follows a Greek-born physicist in the USSR over four decades as his search for scientific truth is bent to the service of the state.

More than 20 years ago at IFFR 2004, Khrzhanovsky’s debut feature 4 won the Tiger Award. The following year the Hubert Bals Fund backed Dau with Development Support, and in 2006 the project was presented at CineMart.

18/08/2026

Last chance to submit your CineMart project at the regular fee! 📣

IFFR’s co-production market CineMart next takes place from 31 January to 3 February during IFFR 2027.

Every year, remarkable independent feature film projects from every corner of the world are presented to international industry representatives, each given the perfect platform to find financial and creative partners.

Submit your project before this Thursday 20 August 2026 at 17.00 CEST to pay the regular fee here: https://iffr.com/en/iffr-pro/cinemart/cinemart-project-submission

(Film still: La Nuit (At Night) by Beatrice Gibson)

03/08/2026

Darkroom project submission are now open 🌌🌑

Darkroom offers a platform for the international industry to access exclusive previews of recently or nearly completed films seeking completion or gap funding, sales agents and festival selections.
The next edition of Darkroom will take place from 31 January to 3 February during IFFR 2027.

New for 2027, filmmakers previously selected for Tiger Competition or Bright Future within the last 10 years now qualify. Alongside this, the project can qualify through HBF support, a former BoostNL or CineMart presentation, or a Rotterdam Lab-graduate producer.

Do you want to participate? Read all the regulations and selection criteria before 1 October 2026 (23.59 CEST) and apply via: https://iffr.com/en/iffr-pro/darkroom/darkroom-project-submission

05/06/2026

Two prizes for HBF and IFFR Pro-supported films: Cannes 2026 round-up🌴

The IFFR team is just back from an exciting and rewarding edition at Cannes. Across the Official Selection and Semaine de la Critique, five IFFR-backed films featured in the programme, two took home prizes, and Rotterdam Lab alumni were present throughout.

IFFR-backed films in Cannes:
✧ The Station by Sara Ishaq [Development (2018), HBF+Europe (2022) and NFF+HBF (2022)]
✧ Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul by Bruno Santamaría Razo (HBF+Europe in 2024)
✧ Ben’imana by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo won the Caméra d’or prize (HBF Development Support in 2022)
✧ Elephants in the Fog by Abinash Bikram Shah won the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard (HBF Development Support in 2021 and HBF+Europe Minority Co-production Support in 2023)
✧ Titanic Ocean by Konstantina Kotzamani (CineMart 2019)

The Hubert Bals Fund made two major announcements as HBF+Brazil launched its second edition at a full-house panel at the Marché du Film, and the Displacement Film Fund revealed its second cycle of recipients.

Read more via:

Five IFFR-backed films featured in the programme, two took home prizes and Rotterdam Lab alumni made their presence felt throughout.

23/05/2026

Jury Prize in Cannes for Hubert Bals Fund- and IFFR Pro-supported Elephants in the Fog 🇳🇵🏆

Our congratulations to Nepalese filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah, whose HBF-supported debut feature Elephants in the Fog won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.

"A work of shattering visual beauty and q***r political ferocity," wrote Cédric Succivalli for the International Cinephile Society on the film set in Nepal's transgender community.

The film was backed by the Hubert Bals Fund with Development Support (2021) and HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support (2023), as well as through IFFR Pro and the Netherlands Film Festival's BoostNL development programme (2022–3).

Co-producer Tatiana Leite of Bubbles Project (Brazil) – a Rotterdam Lab 2015 alum and familiar face as a CineMart mentor – brings yet another IFFR connection.

06/05/2026