17 March 2026 – Prishtina
Bleach, the new feature film by Kaltrina Krasniqi, has been selected by the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam through its HBF+EU Minority Co-Production Scheme. The selection was announced today as part of IFFR’s spring funding round.
Set in contemporary Prishtina, Bleach observes how gender, class, and body literacy shape everyday encounters between women living within the same city but under very different circumstances, revealing the fragile boundaries between care and work in the grayness of informal economies. Written by Doruntina Basha, the film is produced by Ares Shporta for Vera Films, in co-production with Portokal (Bulgaria), Papadhimitri Productions (Albania), and Code Blue Production (Montenegro).
For Vera Films, the selection represents a significant step in the international trajectory of the project. “After becoming a mother, I found myself navigating the informal world of care and domestic labour, encountering women workers who operate in private homes, without contracts or legal protection. Together with Doruntina Basha, we began listening to the women who work within this informal ecosystem – one that often fosters an environment of inequality. Bleach is informed by those conversations. We are grateful to the Hubert Bals Fund for supporting our project, they have been crucial partners since the development phase.” — Kaltrina Krasniqi
Operating as a curatorial fund rather than a commercial one, Hubert Bals Fund has backed over 1,400 projects to date, many of which have gone on to premiere at Cannes Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, and Berlinale. The HBF+EU Minority Co-Production Scheme, through which Bleach is funded, is specifically designed to attract European co-producers and connect projects to the international arthouse circuit.
Krasniqi’s previous feature Vera Dreams of the Sea premiered in competition at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in 2021 and received widespread international recognition for its portrait of a woman navigating grief and institutional indifference in contemporary Kosovo.
Principal photography is set to begin this week in Prishtina. Further details on the production will be shared in the coming days.
HBF+Europe is supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA programme of the European Union.
Photography: Majlinda Hoxha
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