Huub Bals

Director and creator of International Film Festival Rotterdam Huub BalsBals at Film Festival Rotterdam, 1983Born(1937-02-03)February 3, 1937Utrecht, The NetherlandsDiedJuly 13, 1988(1988-07-13) (aged 51)Utrecht, The NetherlandsOccupationsFirst director of International Film Festival Rotterdam (1972–1988), organizer of the Cinemanifestatie in Utrecht (1966–1972)Known forFilm programming, cinephilia, personality Hubertus Bernardus "Huub" Bals (February 3, 1937 – July 13, 1988) was the founding director of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). IFFR started small in the Calypso cinema and film theatre 't Venster[citation needed] (now LantarenVenster) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in 1972, with only 4500 visitors and 31 films. In the forthcoming years the film festival expanded gradually and developed into an annual film event of great international importance. Thanks to Bals, many new film countries and continents were introduced to The Netherlands, among which are Russia, China, Taiwan, Africa, and Latin-America. Early life Huub Bals was born to Hubertus Bernardus Bals and Lamberta Snellenberg in Utrecht on February 3, 1937. His parents were simple, Catholic citizens fr