In an international context marked by armed conflicts, political tensions, and increasing restrictions on freedom of expression, the International Film Festival Rotterdam is strengthening its profile not only as an artistic showcase, but also as an active platform supporting filmmakers working in exile or under risky conditions. This direction is rooted in closer collaboration between Marten Rabarts, head of IFFR Pro, and Tamara Tatishvili, director of the Hubert Bals Fund. Together, they have aligned the market and the fund to respond more quickly to urgent situations without abandoning the festival’s long-standing mission of giving visibility to vulnerable voices.

This approach takes shape through specific initiatives. The Hubert Bals Fund supports the Displacement Film Fund, launched by Cate Blanchett, whose first slate of short films includes a new work by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, director of The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and which is already preparing a second round of grants. In parallel, IFFR Pro has launched Safe Harbor, a market program aimed at projects by displaced emerging filmmakers. The key measure has been removing the previous requirement for projects to have prior financing in order to access the market, as this barrier was seen to exclude precisely those most in need of support. Selection now prioritizes creative strength and the urgency of the stories over initial financial solidity.

Festival organizers stress that this is not a symbolic gesture but a structural adaptation. The fund’s flexibility makes it possible to work with projects involving security, mobility, and even identity-protection challenges—issues that are difficult for more rigid funders to accommodate. This work is complemented by Rotterdam’s role as a founding member of the International Coalition of Filmmakers at Risk, a network that supports professionals creating in contexts of conflict or repression.

The festival’s market also reflects other transformations within the sector. With more than forty selected projects, it includes new works by Lois Patiño, following Samsara, and by Morad Mostafa. At the same time, IFFR Pro is seeking to revive its ties with independent cinema in the United States, where raising financing is becoming increasingly difficult, while also observing a rise in co-productions in Southeast Asia, with growing collaboration among countries in the region before turning to European partners.

This landscape is also unfolding at a time when certain cultural funds in Europe are weakening due to political and budgetary changes. In response, the Hubert Bals Fund is developing new international partnerships, including co-development programs with Brazilian institutions to support filmmakers at early stages. Tatishvili emphasizes that the continuity of this model also depends on filmmakers themselves making its impact visible. This is exemplified when former beneficiaries return to the festival with established careers, such as Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho with his Oscar-nominated film The Secret Agent—proof of how flexible support at the right moment can have lasting effects on international cinema.