Netherlands Film Fund & National Film and Video Foundation: Thuthuka

Funding to promote cooperation between South Africa and the Netherlands.

Thuthuka focuses on the development and production of feature films, feature-length documentaries, or animated films with South African and Dutch-related content. These films have the potential for high cinematic quality and can appeal to a large theatrical and film festival audience in South Africa, the Netherlands, and beyond. The program is an initiative of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and the Netherlands Film Fund to promote collaboration between South Africa and the Netherlands.

The Netherlands Film Fund is the national cultural fund for the professional, independent film sector in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. It provides financial support for the development, production and distribution of film productions and film-related activities.f film productions and film-related activities. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is the national fund for South Africa’s film and video industry.

Thuthuka aims to develop and produce feature films, feature-length documentaries, or animated films that incorporate South African and Dutch-related content. These films should be of high cinematic quality and have the potential to reach a broad audience in theaters and at film festivals in both countries and internationally. The productions are intended for theatrical release and are established as equal co-productions.

Development Phase
Producers of a majority-Dutch feature film, feature-length documentary, or animated film can apply for a development grant from the Netherlands Film Fund to support the writing of a script and the creation of a pitch book. Each year, a maximum of four projects (two from the Netherlands and two from South Africa) are selected for funding. Additionally, teams of selected projects will participate in workshops and receive opportunities to expand their network.
Producers of majority-South African productions can submit their application to the NFVF.

Production Phase
Teams that successfully complete the Thuthuka development phase with their project will be invited to participate in the corresponding pitch round of the program. A maximum of four projects (two from the Netherlands and two from South Africa) can be pitched per round. Only one project per round will be selected to apply for a production grant through Thuthuka.

Destination

Aruba

Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba

Curaçao

Netherlands

Sint Maarten (Dutch part)

South Africa

Discipline(s)

Audiovisual Media

Who can apply

Organisations

Dutch producers with a script in development for a majority-Dutch film production, involving a South African co-producer and a South African writer; and
South African producers with a script in development for a majority-South African film production, involving a Dutch co-producer and a Dutch writer.

For what

Project

How much

Development
A maximum of €40,000

Production

A maximum of €250,000 (NFF) for a feature film
A maximum of €100,000 (NFF) for a documentary

Requirements

Development

The project concerns a film plan for a screenplay for a majority-Dutch feature-length documentary (>70 min) or (animated) feature film (>80 min) written by a South African writer;
The creative partnership between the Netherlands and South Africa must be central to the project;
A screenwriter and co-producer from South Africa must be attached to the film plan with a written commitment;
The project must be a new film plan for which no previous (development) funding has been requested from the NFVF or the Netherlands Film Fund (NFF);
None of the core team members(producer, co-producer, writer, director) may be involved in another Thuthuka project at the time of application;
The film production must be primarily intended for theatrical release;
The content will be evaluated to determine whether the project has the potential to reach an audience in both countries.

Production

The film production must have received a Thuthuka development grant;
A director must be attached to the project;
The team must have successfully completed the Thuthuka development phase;
The pitch book has been delivered;
The screenplay is fully developed;
The team must have participated in the pitch for Thuthuka production funding;
The film production must have been selected by the advisory committee during the pitch round;
The unique characteristics of the film plan, as outlined in the development application, must remain unchanged throughout development;
The film production must be produced in accordance with the co-production treaty between South Africa and the Netherlands.

When to apply

Currently closed

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Netherlands Film Fund: Thuthuka

National Film and Video Foundation

Last updated

1 Feb 2025