Holland Animation Film Festival was cancelled after clash with state funders

The 2018 edition of the event was cancelled in January.The 2018 edition of the Holland Animation Film Festival (Haff) was cancelled as a result of a clash between the event organisers and state funders.The cancellation of this year’s festival, along with the resignation of Haff director Gerben Schermer, was first announced in January.

This year’s event would’ve run from March 21-25 in Utrecht.According to former Haff board members, stricter business-driven demands imposed by two leading state funders The Dutch Film Fund and the municipality of Utrecht, which together account for about a third of the Haff budget, were at the root of the event’s cancellation.These demands included higher public attendance numbers and bigger box office revenues, a bigger reserve fund, higher contributions from third party sponsors and partners, and demands for more organisational ‘professionalisation’.Former Haff board member Sydney Smeets said: “At a certain point, when you get money

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