Nigerian filmmaker Babatunde Apalowo’s In the Wake of Yesterday has been selected for the 2026 Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) Development Support Scheme, earning a €10,000 grant from the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
The film is one of 20 projects selected for this year’s scheme, an increase from the 15 projects supported in 2025.
Set in a drought-stricken Sahel village, In the Wake of Yesterday follows a records keeper who is exiled into the desert after refusing to register her unborn child under a false name.
During her exile, she discovers that the archive responsible for condemning her is only a fragment of a much larger system extending far beyond her world. The film is a Nigeria-United Kingdom co-production.
Speaking exclusively with The Nollywood Reporter, Apalowo discussed the inspiration behind the film and the significance of the HBF selection to its development.
He described In the Wake of Yesterday as a new African myth rooted in storytelling traditions and histories found across the continent. For Apalowo, the project offers an opportunity to explore an African civilisation from a fresh perspective while creating a world that feels ancient, lived-in, and timeless.
He also spoke about the significance of the HBF support at this stage of the project.
“The Hubert Bals Fund support means a great deal to me,” he says, noting that the film remains in its formative stage. According to him, the recognition gives him the time and confidence to deepen the screenplay while building the right international partnerships around the project.
“I’m especially happy that the project is being introduced to the world through a fund with such a strong history of supporting bold, filmmaker-led cinema. So really excited about the journey ahead,” he adds.
Apalowo’s project is part of a strong African presence in this year’s selection, alongside South African filmmaker Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi’s Lady Pearl, an absurdist satire set inside a shape-shifting hotel that examines the long-term consequences of apartheid and the contradictions of contemporary South Africa.
This year’s HBF slate also places a regional focus on Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, with eight of the 20 selected projects coming from the region, including North Macedonia’s first-ever HBF-supported project.
