Since its founding in 1988, The Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam has given financial support to more than 400 feature-film and documentary projects in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The Fund was named in honor of the Rotterdam Festival’s founding director, Hubert Bals, an indefatigable cinephile who, before his death in 1988, helped bring Western exposure to the cinema of countries like Tunisia and South Korea. Films completed with grants from The Hubert Bals Fund are justly celebrated for their visual storytelling, and many have gone on to receive prizes at major international film festivals.
In recognition of the continuing importance of The Hubert Bals Fund in discovering and encouraging young talent, The Museum of Modern Art presents a tribute of approximately 25 films spanning its 15-year history, including the New York premieres of Ali-Reza Raissian’s The Deserted Station (Iran, 2002), Yevgeni Yufit’s Killed by Lightning (Russia, 2002), Christian Mungiu’s Occident (Romania, 2002), and Mani Kaul’s The Servant’s Shirt (India, 1998). A national tour of this exhibition is planned following its presentation at MoMA.
Organized by Joshua Siegel, Assistant Curator, Department of Film and Media, The Museum of Modern Art, in collaboration with Marianne Bhalotra, Coordinator of The Hubert Bals Fund, International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Made possible with the support of The Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York (Jeanne Wikler, General Director, Cultural Affairs). With special thanks to Sandra den Hamer and Simon Field, Codirectors of the International Film Festival Rotterdam; Emile Fallaux, Boardmember of The Hubert Bals Fund; Bianca Taal; Noah Cowan; Wampie van der Waal; and the many participating distributors, archives, and filmmakers.