The First Hand Fund is a brand by First Hand Films, to invest in projects either as seed financing or gap money. The Fund does not have any rich people behind it, it was created by Hansjürgen Schmölzer from BSX Austria and Esther van Messel from First Hand Films Switzerland. We want to be more involved in production earlier and are prepared to invest in that.

Our first support was made for THE RIVER BETWEEN US, a Carl Gierstorfer film and a Docdays Production by Antje Boehmert. Our investment enabled the film to hire Sam Slater for the composition of the score.

Another film supported by us is A GUIDE TO GENTRIFICATION by Keren Shayo and Lavi Vanunu, co-written and produced by Osnat Trabelsi for Trabelsi Productions in Tel Aviv – Jaffa. The film was made out of a TV series we saw and loved, and believed should be seen more widely.

Occasionally, we hand out Awards for Most Promising Project, in Trieste in 2020 to EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY (IDFA and many other festivals) and in 2021 to RECONCILIATION (premiering at many festivals). In 2022, we added a prize award to the distribution offer the First Hand Fund Award entails, and highlighted ATONAL GLOW our of Georgia, about a piano wunderkind.

In 2023, with First Hand Films turning 25 years, we published the First Hand Fund Diversity Call for €25’000.

The Award went out in cash and in kind to seven projects, companies and collectives, for well-made groundbreaking stories that disrupt and advance dialogue:

• We Are The Granddaughters. A documentary about witches, rebellion and breaking the patriarchy from young Polish filmmaker Magdalena Puzmujzniak
• Palarctic: A joint initiative involving six young filmmakers from Norway and Palestine overseen by Mohamed Jabaly. (Tromso is a sister city to Gaza).
• Another Story by Basel-based Loreley Films, “reviving female filmmakers’ legacies…through festivals, workshops and research”
• Aditi Sharma: Travel stipend support for a fast-rising young Indian filmmaker whose project Songs Of The Unsilenced has already been showcased at major festivals
• Wheel on Fire by Anna Snowball: a doc project exploring systemic injustice in a Brazilian neighbourhood based on the site of an old sugar plantation
• Seera Films: Backing for a Berlin and Cairo based production outfit championing underrepresented voices
• Be-In: a platform enhancing visibility, networking and accessibility in the film community for those with disabilities

The Award is intersectional, diversity-oriented and encouraged projects from underrepresented and discriminated people of all genders, sexual orientations, colors, physical and psychological abilities.

A new call will be published here when opened.