The Dutch Touch - EYE International

Transcription

The Dutch
Touch
3
preface
The Dutch
Touch
Vision and passion for
children’s films in the Netherlands
Since 1989 Dutch films for kids have
been very successful abroad, both
at festivals and in the marketplace.
So successful that nowadays Dutch
children's films are a brand and a
very important export product for the
Netherlands.
Thus when film producer Sabine
Veenendaal and film marketeer Esther
Schmidt wrote the Dutch book Van
Abeltje tot Zoop, on the success of
Dutch Children’s films we immediately saw a potential for an international version that would help us with
our work to promote Dutch Children’s
films internationally.
Inspired by the interviews and research they conducted for their Dutch
book, Veenendaal and Schmidt wrote
this additional booklet on the subject
for the international film audience. It
contains a short overview of the sector
with emphasis placed on the groundbreaking films and the key filmmakers
of the Dutch children’s film industry.
We added a comprehensive listing of
all Dutch children's films as a kind of
catalogue that picks up the history
of Dutch films for kids from 1989,
the year when Ben Sombogaart made
my father lives in rio. This film
was generally regarded as marking a
turning point in the industry, nationally and internationally. It was a new
severe type of drama for children, an
adult way of telling the story of a child
and his problems. Many successful
films would follow as this booklet will
show you.
We believe that with this concise overview and extensive background information about the Dutch Children’s
film industry, we can help you better
then ever with selecting great films by
very talented Dutch film makers.
Claudia Landsberger
Head eye International
eye Film Institute Netherlands
Preface
5
Index
7
Succes across
the border
9-14
Pioneers
13-25
Catalogue
27-117
Henk van der Linden
Karst van der Meulen
Burny Bos & Ben Sombogaart
Focus
Children on the set
Adaptations and icons
Broccoli and fries
Tradition across the border
Tax deduction for private
investments
Film market by the lake
46-47
52-53
78-79
88-89
104-105
118-119
Index
124-126
Colofon
127
Film industry
Vision and passion for
children’s films in the Netherlands
Focus
The Dutch
Touch
Catalogue
contents
6
7
introduction
Succes
across
the border
The Dutch children’s film has been doing great in the
Netherlands, but also abroad for years now.
because In The Netherlands, making children’s films is
considered just as significant as making films for adults…
8
introduction
Success
across the border
on a lively film industry driven by
personal passion and power
People with passion make films.
They have passion for telling stories,
for beautiful images, for sharing
emotions and excitement. Films for
children are even more supported by
passionate people. This enthusiasm
and persistence makes it happen that
children in many countries can enjoy,
learn, laugh, cry and talk about film.
Not only within the Netherlands, but
also across borders. Filmfestivals are
very important to let these stories
travel, to touch international children
with international films.
The Dutch children’s film has been
doing great in the Netherlands, but
also abroad for years now. The films
are regularly selected by renowned
international festivals and often win
awards. More and more films are sold
to foreign TV stations and distributors
that broadcast or release the films in
various languages.
An important reason mentioned
by festival programmers, distributors and sales agents for the success
of Dutch children’s films is the fact
that the Netherlands have a genuine
children’s film culture. In The Netherlands, making children’s films is considered just as significant as making
films for adults. And this can mainly
be ascribed to the personal qualities of
a number of inspired people, particularly producers, who believe in the
children’s film and have specialised
in making them. What is also important is that in the past decade the
children’s film in the Netherlands has
been structurally supported by funds
and broadcasters, which is not the
case in many other countries.
Programmers around
the world love to screen
these films
Another key reason, signalled by
foreign professionals, is that Dutch
children’s films are entertaining and
at the same time instructive. Dutchmen turn out to be deft at combining
humour and emotion.
Abroad, this combination not only
9
introduction
- success across the border
appeals to children, but also to adults.
This is why programmers around the
world love to screen these films at
their festivals.
The Netherlands have
a genuine children’s
film culture.
Renate Zylla, from 1986 to 2002 director and programmer of the ‘Children’s
Filmfest’ at the Berlinale, sees from
the late 1980s that Dutch children’s
films reap ever greater successes at
international festivals. She mainly ascribes this to the fact that children are
taken seriously in these films. ‘Producers often think they have to focus on
action and humour in children’s films.
But the success of many Dutch children’s films lies precisely in the fact
that children and their problems are
taken very seriously. The stories are
told from the perspective of the child
and the child’s thoughts and feelings
are put across very realistically. The
stories keep close to real life. And the
relationship between children and
adults is very important. This makes
the films not only identifiable to children, but also to their parents.’
Furthermore, Renate Zylla feels the
children’s performances in children’s
films are very convincing. ‘Dutch
directors know very well how to direct
children. They respect young actors
and manage to get the best out of
them. In many countries, directors
simply make their young actors say
what’s in the script. That’s boring. In
these films, even adults often come
across as puerile and idiotic.’
u.s.a
japan
¬
canada
10
Where is Winky’s horse? (2007)
The importance
of international
festivals
International festivals are vital
to the Dutch children’s film
and its makers. Here, they can
experience first-hand how their
films are received by an international children’s audience.
The selection and the possible
crowning by a children’s jury and
a professional jury offer the film
and its makers many new perspectives: publicity, selection by other
festivals and, frequently, sales of
the film to other countries. Usually,
programmers from other festivals
attend the event to scout titles and
sales agents are in the theatres to
buy and sell films.
Xiaojuan Zhou of Delphis Films
from Canada has been selling
Dutch children’s films for over
a decade. Today, her catalogue
comprises 25 Dutch titles, about
20 percent of Delphis’ total offer
of ‘family’ features (e.g. winky’s
horse, minoes, letter for the
king, bonkers, fuchsia the mini
witch). ‘Dutch children’s films
often have simple, but not simplistic stories, usually based on real
life, mixed with a dose of fantasy.
Moreover, Dutch children’s films
11
introduction
reflect a society that becomes increasingly multicultural.’ Xiaojuan Zhou
emphasises they are not blockbusters; compared to the big American
movies, they are ‘small’ films. But this
is precisely to their advantage. Unlike
festival programmers, sales agents
obviously also focus on the commercial potential of films. Because Dutch
children’s films are high-quality and
have a specific character, they stand
out among the other titles.
Dutch children’s films
are sold across
the world
Today, Dutch children’s films are
sold across the world, from the
European and Asian markets to
North and Latin America. Buyers may
range from TV stations to distributors
releasing the films in theatres or on
DVD. Even if the theatrical release
is relatively small, because young
audiences abroad prefer to go to an
American or home-grown film, the
fact remains that there is a strong
interest in the Dutch children’s film.
For example, where is winky’s horse?
was released with a small number of
copies in theatres in Sweden, France,
Norway, Luxembourg and Denmark.
And letter for the king got a Spanish release, frogs and toads a Norwegian, and dunya & desie in Morocco
a Japanese and a Turkish release.
Minoes was theatrically released in
France, Italy, Canada, Germany and
recently in North America. Partly
owing to its Oscar nomination for
Best Foreign-Language Film, winter
was released in cinemas
in North America, the UK and other
countries.
in wartiMe
The best-selling Dutch films from the
Delphis Film catalogue are: Minoes
(over 60 sales, spread across most
of the world), winky’s horse (over 30
sales, spread across more than 50
countries) and letter for the king
(around 15 sales, spread across
over 60 countries). But also ‘smaller’
films like eep! (around 10 sales), the
penknife (around 20 sales) and bonk(around 30 sales) find an eager
market.
ers
12
introduction
‘There is generally
a more open attitude
in the Netherlands’
To a sales agent, they are a welcome
complement to their supply; it makes
their catalogue varied and high-grade.
Pierce Nightingale, sales agent of
High Point Media Group (e.g. winter in wartime, little crumb
and peter bell): ‘There’s a lot of
talent in the Netherlands for making
accomplished, entertaining family
films, which the Dutch film industry
is rightly supportive of, and there is
certainly a call for good quality family
films worldwide. There is generally
a more open attitude in the Netherlands in contrast to other countries,
so it is not uncommon to come across
films aimed at children, that tackle
‘difficult’, more ‘adult’ subjects like
divorce, drugs, mental illness or
death. This calls for a very fine balance to work successfully abroad.’ But
Nightingale also points out that the
demand for children’s films, commercially and beyond the festival circuit,
is for action and adventure. ‘In the
best children’s films, important and
even challenging life lessons can filter
subliminally through stories which
keep fun and adventure firmly at their
centre.’
High Point sold the TV and home
entertainment rights of winter in
wartime worldwide to countries like
the UK, Australia, Scandinavia, Latin
America, Eastern Europe and China.
And the zoo rangers trilogy,
peter bell and little crumb were
also sold worldwide to TV stations or
for DVD release to Eastern Europe,
Brazil, Thailand, India, Latin America,
Scandinavia, Turkey, France, Germany
and Italy.
So many sales to so many countries.
This, while the Netherlands is a relatively small country, with a limited
Dutch-speaking region. It is not always
easy to make Dutch children’s films
travel, simply because the dubbing
costs can run very high. But owing to
the perseverance and passion of Dutch
professionals, the Netherlands is positioned firmly on the international film
map and it triumphs both home and
across borders.
13
pioneers of the dutch children’s film
Strong &
passionate
personalities
building
a film industry
films
In the development of children’s film culture in the
Netherlands, a few impassioned filmmakers can be highlighted
as the pioneers of the Dutch children’s film.
14
pioneers
Henk
van der Linden
The first Dutch filmmaker who is fully dedicated
to the production of children’s films
The thriving cinema attendance during World War II in the Netherlands
makes the theatre owners think.
The auditoriums have been packed
in recent years, also with children.
From now on, screenings for children
should have a prominent place in the
programming. Dutch filmmakers, too,
seem to slowly discover the children
film genre. Albeit small-scale and still
mainly at an amateur or semi-professional level, more and more children’s
films are produced after the war. The
films do not get the wide national
exposure that foreign (American)
films get, as theatres are still unable
to project the format (16mm and
8mm) that Dutch children’s films are
still generally shot on. Many of these
films are recorded ‘in the backyard’,
with the assistance of volunteers and
amateur actors. The eventual results
are screened at club houses, community centres and occasionally in local
cinemas.
Growing up in the
cinema
In the 1950s and 1960s, however, the
Dutch children’s film is placed well on
the map by filmmaker Henk van der
Linden. Van der Linden (1925) grows
up in his parents’ cinema in a village
in the south of the Netherlands (Limburg), where he spends many hours.
As a teenager, he works as an usher
and watches every single movie. He
turns the basement of the building
into a small theatre, where he organ-
Henk van der Linden,
director, scriptwriter,
cameraman, actor,
editor and producer.
proceeded to make
films like sjors and
conspiracy
sjiMMie and the rebel
escape
gang
(1955); dik troM
and the circus (1960);
turf the tattest little
His first long feature
film is three boys and
a dog (1951) and he
the adventures of
(1978).
peter bell
(1964); the
robins and the robot
(1972);
piM pandoer’s narrow
(1975); billy
student in the world
15
pioneers
- henk van der linden
ises film matinees and evenings for
friends from his school and village.
He watches anything that is released
on film. Van der Linden is a complete
film freak and decides to make films
himself.
He doesn’t want
to be a cineaste,
but an artisan
Because his native region has little
expertise in the film field – there is no
film training and an experienced crew
is hard to find – he has to improvise:
with borrowed equipment and with a
little help from relatives and the local
shopkeepers. His own children and
local kids enact self-invented adventures or well-known children’s books
in his backyard or on the Limburg
heath.
Van der Linden is an all-round man;
he develops not only into a director,
he also writes the scripts, operates the
camera, builds his own sets, does the
production and editing and even does
some occasional acting in his films.
And in the basement of his house, he
equips an editing and sound studio,
so he can complete his own films.
And his family plays a major role,
too: his wife recruits young actors at
schools and clubs, and during the
shooting she does the make-up and
props. His father assists him with all
sorts of odd jobs and his children play
in almost all his productions. His son
in 32 films and his daughter in 23.
Due to his limited budget, Van der
Linden simply cannot afford to use
complicated cinematographic tours
de force. On the other hand, this
method fits his philosophy. He does
not want to be a cineaste, but an
artisan. His pure and simple motive
is making films for children. This
is why he opts for simple camera
movements, and he keeps the lighting quite austere too, as he does the
added sound effects in the post-production.
Purely entertaining
children
The films Van der Linden makes are
very successful with the public, but
the criticism from the field and from
film critics is not clement. In their
Dik Trom and the circus (1960)
16
pioneers
The adventures of Peter Bell (1964)
opinion, the films are often amateurish and unpretentious. But
Van der Linden claims this does
not bother him: ‘When I started
making films, I used my experiences from the cinema. The plot
of a film is paramount, so I decided to present it quite emphatically in the dialogue. In my usher
days in the cinema, I noticed the
dialogue was often unintelligible,
because the children were cheering along with the film. For the
children who didn’t understand
what was going on, or who would
miss out, I wanted to emphasise
things in certain places.
The critics and connoisseurs
blamed me of over-emphasising
things. But my only goal was
making films for children, not for
the reviewers whose criticism I endured. I couldn’t care less. I purely
made films for children and only
wanted to entertain them.’
17
pioneers
Van der Linden partly owes his success to the fact that for some time
he is the only Dutch filmmaker who
makes children’s films. Until the early
1970s, the Dutch children’s films
screened in theatres are nearly all his.
Henk van der Linden comments: ‘In
the beginning, I didn’t have any competitors. For the first twenty years, I
was the only person making films for
children. For cineastes, this was an
inferior genre at the time.’
Between 1951 and 1985, he makes at
least one, sometimes even two films
a year. This results in an impressive
oeuvre of 37 long feature films for
children, plus many short films and
documentaries. With his extensive
body of works, he leaves an indelible
impression in the Netherlands, both
on the field and the public.
Sjors and Sjimmie and The Rebel Gang (1955)
18
Karst
van der Meulen
a true breakthrough in the film industry
When it comes to professionalising
the children’s film in the Netherlands,
Karst van der Meulen plays a major
role in the 1970s. In Holland, the
level of the children’s film so far has
not been very high: they are typically
small-scale, semi-professional films
made with a rather inexperienced
crew and amateur actors. Children
are easily swept away by them, but
journalists, filmmakers and the
(adult) audience generally consider
the children’s film inferior.
Karst van der Meulen’s children’s
films bring about a true breakthrough
in the film industry. Karst van der
Meulen: ‘People always asked me
when I would finally make a real
film. Children’s films were disposed
of with the words “They’re only for
children.” It was all right to start with
Karst van der
Meulen, director,
scriptwriter and
producer.
a children’s film, but then you had to
switch to the real stuff. But I considered making children’s films quite a
serious discipline, not in any way a
stepping stone to something else.’
Making children’s films
is quite a serious
discipline
At this time, there are only a few producers and directors who are prepared
to risk their necks for the children’s
film. The prevailing idea is that it
does not pay beans. The screening
possibilities for children’s films are
much scarcer than for regular films.
Usually, the films are only scheduled
as matinees – and with fine weather,
children do not go to the movies.
Films: circus adventures (1972); uncle
the gang next door
fred and the Magic
crowd
potion
(1974); flying
(1976);
(1980); three is a
(1982); thoMas
and senior on the trail
without wings
of brutal bernard
Martin and the Magician
(1985); at stalling
(1979);
speed
(1989)
19
Flying without wings (1976)
What is more, tickets for children’s
films are often cheaper than for
regular screenings. And children’s
films also get scant publicity in the
media; they are discussed sparsely
in national dailies, which often report meagre narratives, gawky slipups and amateurish dialogues.
Grab the audience
with serious themes
Van der Meulen attended the
Film Academy, where he already
specialised in making children’s
films. The difference between his
work and the earlier films made
for children is professionalism:
he finances his films like regular
features, applies for a substantial
subsidy from the Filmfund and
hires a professional crew. And
to appeal to a large audience, he
comes up with a brilliant idea; he
asks well-known actors and TV
personalities to act in his films.
It is quite extraordinary for this
time that Van der Meulen is allotted a considerable amount
from the Filmfund. After all, the
fund feels children’s films can be
made for much less than films
for adults. Van der Meulen: ‘I had
to contend with Henk van der
Linden’s image. I didn’t want to
deprecate him, because I really
respect what he’s done. But I wanted something different. In those
days, children’s films were really
made for ludicrous amounts. And
you could see this in the actors’
performances and the shaky sets.
People used to say: “Ah well, children won’t notice it.”
20
pioneers
- karst van der meulen
But children do notice it and it irritates the parents. And if you have a
team of professional people who can
make a fine product, it takes more
money. I wanted to take my audience
more seriously.’
Highlight the social
themes in his films
Apart from professionalism, Van der
Meulen’s work has yet another highly
characteristic element: the social
issues addressed in his films. The
1970s are full of social change and
people increasingly dare to express
their opinions through the various
media. Also through film.
The Gang Next Door (1980)
Van der Meulen does not want to
tell universal stories, but grab his
audience with serious themes and
confront them with other people’s
emotions. Plus, film should not only
elicit emotions on a child’s level, but
also on an adult’s level.
When the press appears to highlight
the social themes in his films, Van
der Meulen decides to incorporate
them even more deliberately. In the
process, the director mainly draws
from his personal experiences, and is
inspired by what he witnesses on the
set. And it works. When the headlines
state ‘The children’s film has reached
maturity’, Van der Meulen is content
to conclude he has reached his goal;
the audience is finally taken seriously.
Uncle Fred and the Magic Potion (1974)
21
Martin and the magician (1979)
International
succes
Internationally, Van der Meulen’s
films manage to attract attention as
well. And for the first time, Dutch
children’s films compete for the
awards at international festivals.
For example, he is granted awards
for Best Children’s Film at the 1979
Alexandria Film Festival for flying
without wings; Best Film at the
1981 Moscow Film Festival for the
gang next door; Best Directing at
the 1984 Giffoni Film Festival for
three is a crowd, and Best Children’s Film at the 1990 Berlinale
for at stalling speed. At the 1989
Cinekid Film Festival, Van der Meulen
receives the Cinekid Award for his
lifetime achievement.
cinekid
lifetime
achievement
award
22
Burny Bos &
Ben Sombogaart
Beating Disney
In 1984, former teacher and radio
maker Burny Bos is appointed Head
of the children’s department of
broadcasting company VPRO. There,
he ushers in a new era in children’s
television. In the Netherlands, as a
result of the social developments in
the late 1970s, the attitude towards
children’s education and autonomy
changes drastically. In these turbulent
times, the classic ‘rest, regularity and
purity’ creed is thrown overboard and
replaced by the autonomous child’s
world view. Children get more authority and a bigger say in their own lives.
This is a radical breach with the previous era, when children are mainly
considered ‘not-yet adults’ and have
little authority.
Teachers, social workers and parents
Burny Bos, producer
and scriptwriter.
Films: My father lives
in rio (1989), the penknife (1992), the flying
liftboy (1998), Minoes
(2001), pluk and his
tow truck (2004),
now take children seriously and this
is reflected in books, TV programmes
and films for children. The people
who make these strive for a higher
quality, and the fresh views often give
the books and programmes a rebellious aspect. In his capacity of Head
of children’s department, Burny Bos
hires all sorts of new makers who
conceive new formats for children.
The motto is: Everything is possibly,
everything is allowed.
A new way of
telling stories
High-profile and successful drama series on TV herald a new way of telling
stories and watching them. A tradition originates of making children’s
(2008),
(2005),
where is winky’s horse?
(2007), alfie the werewolf (2012).
Morrison
winky’s horse
Ben Sombogaart,
director.
Films: My father lives
in rio
knife
(1989), the pen(1992), the flying
(1998), pluk and
(2004),
crusade in jeans (2006).
liftboy
his tow truck
23
My father lives in Rio (1989)
drama with ‘everyday reality’ as its
starting point. The programmes
are intended to be accessible to
the entire family: both adults and
children. It is also important to
give new talents a chance, which
results in many directors and writers making their debut on TV and
gaining experience for many years.
The programme makers come
‘I don’t want to explain
things in a childish way,
but show problems in
a mature way.’
from the Film Academy, but also
from other art academies and
institutes. These new talents bring
along creativity and new ways of
making TV, turning children’s
television into a hatchery of talent.
One of the new makers Bos hires
is director Ben Sombogaart, who
is then making TV programmes
for broadcasting company IKON
in a unique style. Sombogaart
makes realistic drama that wants
to hold up a critical mirror to the
public. Sombogaart: ‘I make stories that convince by authenticity.
I don’t want to explain things in a
childish way, but show problems
in a mature way. In the process, I
focus on the child in relationship
to his environment, like parents
and school. The child always takes
centre stage in my stories.’ And his
work is accessible to both adults
and children. ‘A child should be
able to identify with a character.
But as an adult, you should also
recognise yourself in the child.’
Inspired by Sombogaart’s way of
conceiving drama, Bos asks him
to collaborate on a feature film,
the screenplay of which is Bos’s:
my father lives in rio. Bos: ‘The
intention for my father lives in
rio was to prove we could truly
make Dutch children’s drama
24
pioneers
- burny bos and ben sombogaart
at a relatively high level. A film with
substance, which addressed serious
issues and had fine performances. In
contrast with the typical children’s
films at the time; they were often
superficial and unequivocal films.
The characters didn’t have any depth
and problems were briefly stated. We
wanted to make a children’s film that
was taken seriously by the makers.’
Change the ideas about
the release of children’s
films: more mature, more
American and larger.
When the film is completed, Bos
and Sombogaart show the result
to the Film Fund. The Fund is not
impressed and initially decides not
to grant a completion subsidy. The
Fund’s criticism is that the film looks
too much like a TV series. But Bos
and Sombogaart still decide to submit
the film to the Children’s Film Fest
of the Berlinale. When they go on to
clinch the Children’s Jury Award there
and laudatory reviews appear in the
press, the Film Fund decides to grant
The penknife (1992)
a completion subsidy after all. This
brings the film a release in Dutch
theatres, it eventually screens for 47
(!) consecutive weeks and wins awards
at the Netherlands Film Festival and
Cinekid.
The ‘new’ film
is born
It seems the ‘new’ film, increasingly
giving centre stage to the child’s
problems, is born. Sombogaart and
Bos decide to prolong their collaboration and throw themselves on a new
project: the penknife. the penknife is originally intended as a radio
play, but Bos and Sombogaart also
see a film story in it. Because at the
time there is no financing available
for a children’s film, they first turn
it into a series in seven episodes. In
1992, the series wins the prestigious
American Emmy Award and at home
the Cinekid Film Award.
Sombogaart decides to see if the
series footage can be edited into a
film after all, and this appears to be
the case. This time, the Film Fund
is convinced and grants the film a
The flying liftboy (1998)
25
The flying liftboy (1998)
completion subsidy. In 1993, the
penknife wins a Golden Calf for
Best Direction at the Netherlands
Film festival. A theatrical release is
to be expected. It is a limited one,
with only ten copies, but for those
days this is quite substantial. In
these years, distributors avoid the
risk of a release in one hundred
copies, as is quite common now.
Reviewers applaud the film and
some call it ‘the Bergman among
children’s films’, with ’quite
dramatic scenes, and a sparse use
of music.’ At that time, this is completely new for a children’s film.
‘Beating Disney’
becomes the goal
Burny Bos, who by now has set up
his own production company, is
inspired by the success of the adaptations of books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren and takes an
option on the movie rights to the
books by Holland’s best known
children’s book writer Annie M.G.
Schmidt. He is the first to adapt
the book the flying liftboy.
Again, he asks Ben Sombogaart
as the director and he writes the
screenplay himself. Bos has revolutionary plans. Borders must be
26
pioneers
- burny bos and ben sombogaart
crossed. People should change their
ideas about the release of children’s
films: more mature, more American,
larger. At the same time, the subject
matter must be safeguarded. But the
main thing is that the audience gets a
chance to see the film.
‘Beating Disney’ becomes the goal,
and with this ambition Bos manages
to convince distributor Warner Bros.
of the importance of releasing this
film. Bos: ‘If Warner Bros. guaranteed
more than one hundred film copies
throughout the country, we would
make the first commercial family
film.’
The penknife (1992)
Late 1998, the flying liftboy is released in 110 copies. In six weeks, the
film attracts almost one million visitors – an unprecedented number for
a Dutch family film. The combination
of a popular story with a new look, the
music, the fast editing, the computer
graphics and title song leave a profound impression. And to crown it all,
the flying liftboy is awarded the
Golden Calf for Best Dutch Feature
Film in 1999. And Bos gets what he
wants, because by Christmas 1998 he
beats Disney. mulan draws in 539,603
visitors, the flying liftboy 900,597.
This opens the doors to a new type of
Dutch children’s film: the family film.
27
catalogue
Dutch
children’s
films
1989–2012
28
2012
Kauwboy
Jojo is caught between his love for a
jackdaw and his loyalty to his father.
Finally he decides that enough is
enough.
Jojo (10) lives with his father, whom
he adores, even though he can be
sometimes difficult and aggressive.
One day Jojo finds a jackdaw that he
names Jack, and decides to take care
of it even though his father disapproves. When his father finds out that
Jojo has lied to him they have a huge
argument and Jack flies away. Jojo is
sad and runs away too, but in the end
it is not Jack who comforts Jojo, but
his father.
official selection
berlinale
generation
(2012)
87’ / 35mm / colour / 2012
Original title: kauwboy
Genre: family
Director: Boudewijn Koole
Screenplay: Jolein Laarman,
Boudewijn Koole
Producer: Waterland Film
Cast: Rick Lens, Loek
Peters (laptop, life is
beautiful), Cahit Olmez
(gangsterboys, shylock),
Susan Radder (offers,
hidden stories).
Filmography Boudewijn Koole
maite (2008, TV film), a river
left for me (2008, doc), drawn
out love (2007, short).
Waterland Film
Ph +31 20 682 2164
mail@waterlandfilm.nl
www.waterlandfilm.nl
Sales: Delphis Films
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
xiao@delphisfilms.com
www.delphisfilms.com
29
2012
Taking changes
Kiek devises a unique way of dealing
with her worries about her father
Kiek is worried as her father works
in a war zone. To lengthen the odds
of her father getting hurt, she comes
up with a strange and unique idea:
she needs a dead dog and a dead
mouse, because Kiek doesn’t know
one person who has a dead mouse,
a dead dog and a dead father. Surely
the odds against that are enormous?
Nicole van
Kilsdonk,
scriptwriter and
director.
‘Perhaps children’s films are
taken more seriously in countries
where films aren’t dubbed. You
can find a genuine children’s film
industry in countries where films
are made in their own language.
Like in the Scandinavian countries
and the Netherlands. You don’t
see this so much in, for example,
France or Germany. Everything is
dubbed there, and perhaps this is
why they don’t want to make films
in their own language. It’s obvious
children want to watch films in
their language, as they can’t read
subtitles.’
official selection
berlinale
generation
(2012)
87’ / 35mm / colour / 2011
Original title: patatje oorlog
Genre: family
Director: Nicole van Kilsdonk
Screenplay: Lotte Tabbers
Co-producer: A Private View (BE)
Producer: Lemming Film
Cast: Pippa Allen, Johnny de
Mol (tunnelvision, vox
populi), Rifka Lodeizen
(simon, flirt, sextet).
Filmography Nicole van Kilsdonk
a.o. heading west (2010),
security (2009), how to
survive myself (2008), johan
(2004), making waves (2003)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
info@lemmingfilm.com
www.lemmingfilm.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
30
2012
Cool Kids don’t Cry
Soccer-loving Akkie is
diagnosed with leukemia. Only
through her love for a boy in
her class, can she accept the
inevitable.
cool kids don’t cry tells
the story of Akkie, a spirited
young girl, who loves soccer,
even though her classmate
Joep thinks that soccer is not
meant for girls. When Akkie
is diagnosed with leukemia,
she remains optimistic. She
even continues interfering with
the school soccer tournament
while she is lying in the hospital. But when Akkie’s health
deteriorates so much she is no
longer able to participate in
the tournament, Joep comes
up with a really special plan.
DCP / color / 90 min / 2012
Filmography Dennis Bots:
Original title: achtste groepers
(2009), anubis and the path of
seven sins (2008), zoo rangers
in africa (2005), emergency exit
(2001, short)
anubis and the wrath of arghus
huilen niet
Genre: family
Director: Dennis Bots
Screenplay: Karen van Holst
Pellekaan
Co-Producer: Living Stone (BE),
EO (NL)
Producer: Rinkel Film, Bijker
Cast: Johanna ter Steege (tirza,
last conversation),
Hanna Obbeek (the
secret letter), Eva van
der Gucht (chubby drums,
everybody’s famous),
Hanna Verboom (bennie
stout, me & mr jones).
Rinkel Film
Ph 31 20 616 3231
info@rinkelfilm.com
www.rinkelfilm.com
31
2012
Tony 10
The story of little Tony, whose father
rises from crane driver to Secretary of
State.
A family film which tells the unlikely
and timeless story of ten year old
Tony, whose father becomes Secretary
of State, having once been a humble crane driver. As a result Tony’s
parents get divorced and he does
everything he can to bring them back
together. He even asks the Dutch
Queen to help him out…
35mm / colour / 85’ / 2012
Original title: tony tien
Genre: children
Director: Mischa Kamp
Screenplay: Mieke de Jong
Producer: Lemming Film (NL)
Co-Producer: ma.ja.de
filmproduction (DE), U-Film (BE)
Cast: Faas Wijn, Jeroen
Spitzenberger (tirza),
Rifka Lodeizen (taking
chances), Annet Malherbe
(fuchsia the mini
witch).
Filmography Mischa Kamp:
because of the fish (2008,
short), where is winky’s horse?
(2007) winky’s horse (2005)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
32
2012
Swchwrm,
my adventures
Every adventure begins with a single
sentence…
my adventures is the autobiography
of Swchwrm (9), who has only one
ambition: to become a writer of books
that leave people astounded. And
while he struggles with his opening
sentences, he also intends to fall in
love, and so he practises both day and
night, in secret. Finally, at the end of
by far the saddest day of his life, he
writes an adventure that moves even
the seemingly impenetrable Queen,
for whom suffering is ‘mundane’, to
tears.
85’ / 35mm / colour / 2012
Original title: swchwrm
Genre: family
Director: Froukje Tan
Screenplay: Helena
van der Meulen
Producer: Flinck Film
Cast: Georgina Verbaan
(frogs and toads), Hans
Dagelet (the indian).
Filmography Froukje Tan
(2008), mary’s property
(2005), sunday (2004), the
boy who didn’t understand
anybody (2002, short)
left
Flinck Film
Ph : +31 20 570 3130
info@flinckfilm.nl
www.flinckfilm.nl
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
33
2012
ZigZag Kid
When Nono (13) meets masterburglar Felix the boy discovers the
history of his father and his mother,
and much about himself
Nono wants to be like his father (the
best police inspector in the world) but
he’s constantly getting into trouble.
Two days before his Bar Mitzvah,
he is sent away to his uncle, who is
supposed to get him back on track.
However, during the train-ride Nono
gets one last chance to prove himself.
Together with master-burglar Felix
Glick, he enters a world of disguises,
chases, French chansons - and Zohara,
a mysterious woman whose secrets
will change Nono’s life forever.
90’ / 35mm / colour / 2012
Original title: zigzag kind
Genre: family
Director: Vincent Bal
Screenplay: Vincent Bal
Co-producer: Prime Time (BE)
Producer: BosBros,
N279 Entertainment
Cast: Thomas Simon, Fedja
van Huêt (loft), Isabella
Rossellini (solitude
of prime numbers),
Burghart Klaussner (the
white ribbon).
Filmography Vincent Bal
a.o. kika & bob (2008, tv series),
man of steel (1999), minoes (2001)
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
34
2012
To be king
The seventeen year old Stach is faced
with five impossible assignments he
has to complete to become king.
The old King of Katoren dies. Just as
the king passes away a remarkable and
happy baby boy is born, Stach. Sadly,
Stach becomes an orphan almost immediately. After seventeen years Stach,
raised by his uncle, wants to be the
new king. The ministers decide to give
Stach five impossible assignments
that they believe he can never complete. Things do not go as easily
as the boisterous Stach had expected,
especially when he is confronted with
matters of live and death.
120 / HD / colour / 2012
Original title: koning van katoren
Genre: Adventure, Family
Director: Ben Sombogaart
Screenplay: Jean Claude van
Rijckeghem, Chris Craps
producer: Kees Kasander
Cast: tba
Filmography Ben Sombogaart
crusade in jeans (2009), pluk
and his tow truck (2004), the
flying liftboy (1998), my father
lives in rio (1989)
Kasander Film
Ph +31 10 433 3043
www.kasanderfilm.nl
info@kasanderfilm.nl
35
2012
Fidgety Bram
Fidgety Bram is a little boy who just
cannot sit still. Which becomes a
problem when he starts school.
Fidgety Bram thinks a lot about the
world around him. He is looking
forward to entering the first grade
but unfortunately he ends up in the
class of the strict Mr. Fish. The oldfashioned teacher doesn’t care about
Bram’s internal, mobile, unfocussed
world and does whatever it takes to
make him do things right.
Bram’s parents must subsequently
struggle with the extent to which their
son must adapt without becoming
miserable.
80’ / 35mm / colour / 2012
Original title: brammetje baas
Genre: family
Director: Anna van der Heide
Screenplay: Tamara Bos
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Coen van Overdam,
Katja Herbers, Tjebbo
Gerritsma, Roosmarijn van
der Hoek.
Flmografie Anna van der Heide
zara (2009 TV film), missiepoo16
(2007, short).
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
36
2012
Alfie the little
werewolf
When Alfie suddenly turns into
a werewolf on the night of his
seventh birthday, he hasn’t a
clue what to do…
Alfie has no idea what is happening to him when he turns
into a little werewolf on his 7th
birthday, so he jumps from his
bedroom window and runs
through the park, chasing
ducks and chickens. When daylight comes, he returns home,
and wakes up as Alfie again. His
foster brother Timmie thinks
it’s awesome, but Alfie doesn’t
want to be a werewolf. He’s
afraid his foster parents won’t
want him anymore. Alfie wants
to keep his secret whatever it
takes…
90’ / 35mm / colour / 2011
Original title: dolfje weerwolfje
Genre: family
Director: Joram Lürsen
Co-producer: Ciné
Cride Coeur (BE)
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Ole Kroes (sonny boy),
Maas Bronkhuyzen,
Remko Vrijdag (love is
all), Kim van Kooten
(loft, cornelis).
Filmografie Joram Lürsen
a.o. the magicians (2010)
(2009), love is all
(2007) in orange (2004), my
french aunt gazeuse (1996).
coach
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph +1 514 843 3355
37
Tamara Bos,
scriptwriter.
‘It’s vital that great
films are made for
children. That’s important for their
education and development. Film
provides insight in other people’s
conceptions. Dutch children’s films
should actually be made compulsory in school curriculums. Dutch
children’s literature has a high level,
but the Dutch children’s film is just
as excellent. It’s a pity not everybody
recognises the educational value of
children’s films.’
‘I try to conceive stories that are
sensitive, funny and exciting and that
can be enjoyed by both children and
parents. And if they’re well-made,
they’re instructive as well. Film can
be so much more than entertainment
alone; it can deal with all sorts of current issues. A commercial film can
contain multiple layers, too.’
‘I don’t like dividing the world into
good and bad, because I don’t
believe in that. In my stories, I often
create a type of world where people
misunderstand each other; to me,
this is far more interesting than the
given that people are just bad. That
would make the characters flat. It’s
better to show people’s impotence
and empathize with them, so that,
when you’re watching the film, you
understand the characters.’
38
2012
My Dad’s
a Detective
The Competition
The Competition is the third
adventure in the exciting and
hilarious My Dad’s a Detective
film series, in which Sam and
his friends help his detective
father, Max, to crack his cases.
This time around, the four
friends enter their band into a
televised talent contest and are
swept up into an increasingly
fierce competition that some
contestants suspect is rigged.
Then, right before the final,
Ortwin is kidnapped — but by
whom? In today’s world, everyone wants to be famous...how
far will you go to win?
85’ / 35mm / colour / 2012
Filmography Will Wissink:
Original title: mijn vader is een
paradise (2011), my dad’s a
detective!
– de wet van 3
Genre: family/adventure
my dad’s a detective
detective
- witches
- the mysterious
fortress island (2010),
dropouts (1999)
Director: Will Wissink
Screenplay: Zebi Damen
Producer: A’dam Films
Cast: Cees Geel (simon, my
dad’s a detective ), Ellen
ten Damme (as i was
wondering…), Beau van
Erven Dorens (love you
too), Loek Peters (the
strongest man in holland)
A’dam Films
Ph: + 31 20 489 9022
mail@amsterdamfilms.nl
www.amsterdamfilms.nl
39
2012
Bennie Stout
Through no fault of his own, 8 year-old
Bennie has ended up in Sinterklaas’
big bag of presents…
When Bennie accepts the challenge
of a race from the mayor’s son,
they cause havoc. But only Benny
is punished: he cannot watch
Sinterklaas arrive the next day. What’s
more, he hears that his father must
remain in Bilbao over December 5.
When Roderick looks into Sinterklaas’
book he sees that he is to be sent to
Spain, and so erases his name. But
this makes Bennie think. Spain. If his
father cannot come home, then he
could go to his father!
35mm & DCP / colour / 88’ / 2011
Filmography Johan Nijenhuis
fuchsia the mini witch (2010),
Original title: bennie stout
Genre: family
alibi
(2007), zoo rangers in
south america (2007), zoo
rangers in india
Director: Johan Nijenhuis
Screenplay: Wijo Koek
Producer: Nijenhuis & Co,
Farmhouse Film & TV, Two
Houses
Cast: Koen Dobbelaer, Marijn
Bekkenk, Hanna Verboom
(cool kids don’t cry, me
& mr jones), Diederik
Ebbinge.
(2006), zoo
(2005),
(2001), costa!
rangers in south africa
full moon party
(2001).
Nijenhuis & Co
Ph +31 20 419 0285
bernard@nijenhuisenco.nl
www.nijenhuisenco.nl
Sales: Mountain Road
Entertainment Group
Ph + 31 35 623 5559
danielle@mountainroad.nl
www.mountainroad.nl
Johan Nijenhuis,
director and
producer.
‘To me, making
children’s films is a matter of progressing insight, especially since
I have children of my own. First, I
thought you had to underline and
exaggerate things for them. I used
to accentuate all story twists with
music, for example, but now I do
things differently. By watching
films with my children, I found
they are just as intelligent an audience as adults. Things I used to
think they would not understand,
they understand very well.’
40
2012
Furious
Sven escapes into his own
world, filming his free-running
friends, while remaining silent
about the beatings he receives
at home.
Sven (15) wants to be a movie
director and is constantly filming his free-running friends to
post the items on Youtube. He
asks Roosmarijn, the girl he is
in love with, to participate in
his first feature film. But under
no circumstances can she
know about the beatings Sven
receives at home.
93’ / 35mm / colour / 2011
Original title: razend
Genre: coming of age
Director: Dave Schram
Screenplay: Maria Peters, Dick
van den Heuvel
Producer: Shooting Star Film
Company
Co-Producer: Just Bridge
Entertainment
Cast: Ko Zandvliet, Abbey Hoes,
Mingus Dagelet, Juliet
Daalder
Filmography Dave Schram:
lover or loser (2009),
desperate (2008), timboektoe
(2007)
Shooting Star Filmcompany
Ph +31 20 624 72 72
info@shootingstar.nl
www.shootingstar.nl
JustBridge
Ph +31 35 562 860 90
eric@justbridge.nl
www.justbridge.nl
41
2011
The strongest man
in Holland
Twelve-year old Luuk Bos always
thought his father was the world’s
strongest man.
His mother Dorien, who raised Luuk
on her own, always used to tell him
the most amazing stories about his
father. When Luuk attends the local
strongest man competition, he meets
participant René Doornbos. Luuk suspects the man to be his father. When
he one day sees old photographs of
René who used to have red hair, just
like his own, he thinks this proves it.
René Doornbos is his father. When
Dorien finds out that Luuk thinks he
has found his father, she tells him the
truth: Luuk was a test-tube baby.
35mm / colour / 110’ / 1998
Original title: sterkste man van
de wereld
Genre: family
Director: Marc de Cloe
Screenplay: Maarten Lebens,
Pietr Bart Korthuis
Producer: NL Films
Cast: Bas van Prooijen, Suzan
Boogaerdt, Loek Peters,
Yenthe Dirks
Filmography Marc de Cloe:
boy meets girl stories (2002),
summerday (2006), life in one
day (2009) shocking blue (2010),
life is beautiful (2011).
Awards: a.o. Best Television
Fiction Programme, Berlin Prix
Europa (2011), Golden Elephant
Best Screenplay, Hyderabad
(2011) Official selection
Berlinale Generation (2011)
NL Film & TV
Ph. +31 20 574 7626
info@nlfilm.tv
www.nlfilm.tv
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
berlin prix
europe (2011)
42
2011
Penny’s shadow
An argument about a horse’s
life brings a boy and a girl
together.
The story of Shadow, the
descendant of a horse killed
during a catastrophic rescue
operation, is depicted in a
comic book drawn by Kai’s
mother. The book is also about
her, her partner Erik, and
about Kai’s birth. But following
a terrible argument, Kai witnesses his mother’s accidental
death, an event that for years
fills him with remorse. Years
later Erik runs a farm where
young people come for riding
holidays. For Kai, the arrival of
Lisa will change everything.
100’ / 35mm / colour / 2011
Original title: penny’s shadow
Genre: family
Director: Steven de Jong
Screenplay: Lars Boom
Producer: Two Young Rights
Cast: Rick Engelkes, Tanja
Jess, Levi van Kempen,
Liza Sips.
Filmography Steven de Jong:
sniff the dog in wartime (2008),
bontekoe’s young sailors
(2007), kameleon 2 (2005), de
skippers of the kameleon (2003)
Two Young Rights
Ph +31 511 539 510
klaas@kiar.nl
Sales: MountainRoad
Entertainment Group
Sjef Scholte
Ph +31 35 623 55 59
Mobile +31 6 537 218 27
sjef@mountainroad.nl
43
2011
My dad’s a detective
Witches paradise
In this second exciting adventure
of the successful Dutch family film
series My dad’s a detective, Sam
and his clever tomboy neighbour
Sterre and rich kid Ortwin again
take action when Sam’s father,
a bungling sleuth, gets into a fix.
In an alternative commune of
artists, Mara’s mother has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Is this the doing of
ordinary crooks, or is the place
haunted? Sam, Sterre and Ortwin
have to put their hip-hop video,
and any feelings they might have
about being in love, aside for a
while and find out what delusion
or reality is in this world, where
contemporary witches practice the
Wicca-nature religion.
Will Wissink mingles a magical atmosphere and strange rituals with
everyday deadpan humour. An
amazing revelation gives the thrilling adventure a sudden personal
turn for all people involved.
80’ / 35mm / colour / 2011
- the
competition (2012), my dad’s
fortress island (2010),
detective!
– de wet van 3
a detective- the mysterious
dropouts (1999),
Cast: Cees Geel (simon, my
dad’s a detective!
– the
mysterious fortress
island), Willeke van
Ammelrooij (antonia’s
line), Daniël Boissevain
(wild romance), PeggyJane de Schepper (night
run)
A’dam Films
Ph + 31 20 489 9022
44
2011
Bon voyage
When grandfather Bob is seriously ill each member of the
Verbeek family learns to deal
with death in their own way.
The Verbeek family cancels
its holiday to France because
Bob, the grandfather, is very
ill, and during a summer spent
at home they have to come
to terms with a man who is
determined to ignore his own
disease. In a film about love,
friendship, family and letting
go, the family members each
find their own particular way of
coping with his, and their own,
mortality.
82’ / video / colour / 2011
Original title: bon voyage
Genre: family
Director : Margien Rogaar
Screenplay: Tijs van Marle
Producer: Pupkin Film
Cast: Anneke Blok (love is all,
tiramisu), Hans Croiset
(her majesty, guernsey),
Reinout Bussemaker
(storm, antonia’s line)
Frank Lammers (night
run, wild mussels).
Filmografie Margien Rogaar:
about fish and revolution
(2008, short), sigh (2007,
short), maybe sweden (2006), au
cigogne! (2004), matzes (2004,
short).
Pupkin Film
Ph +31 20 489 5088
info@pupkin.com
www.pupkin.com
Sales: Bavaria Media Television
Dana Höfinger
Ph +49 89 6499 3086
dana.hoefinger@bavaria-film.de
45
2011
My grandpa the
bankrobber
In order to find her father in
Surinam Grace is forced to take
desperate measures.
95’ / 35mm / colour / 2010
Grace is the only black child of
an all-white family, desperate
to find out everything about
her Surinamese father. Grandpa can help, but his memory
has worsened every day since
the death of his wife. When the
family decides to put Grandpa
into a home, he and Grace decide to use his savings to travel
to Surinam - but the family
has blocked access to his bank
account. But the pair’s dreams
can come true if they rob the
bank…
Original title: mijn opa de
bankrover
Filmography Ineke Houtman:
the indian (2009), silent night
(2004), polleke (2003), daisy:
scratches in the table (1998)
Genre: family
Director: Ineke Houtman
Screenplay: Sjoerd Kuyper
Co-Producer: U-Film (BE)
Producer: Lemming Film (NL)
Cast: Michiel Romeyn (love is
all, prospero’s books),
Tanja Jess (live!, hush,
hush baby), Waldemar
Torenstra (bride flight,
the happy housewife).
Festivals:
Leeds (2011), Tallinn (2011),
Seoul (2011), Schlingel (2011)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
Sales agent: Delphis Films
Ph +1 514 8433 355
46
focus
Children on
the set
When ‘the’ child walks in the door,
all signals turn green
With the huge increase in films for
and with children, people also increasingly think about professional ways of
casting and guiding children. In the
Netherlands, there are currently two
major casting directors for children:
Martha Mojet and Elske Falkena. Both
have a large influence on the abovementioned professionalism. They are
not only responsible for finding the
right child for the right role; they also
concern themselves with the children’s activities outside the set.
The set quickly
becomes their
homebase
Children generally love participating
in a film. They are very open and easily
make friends. The set quickly becomes
their new home base, the crew and actors are their newly-found (film) family. But apart from working on the set,
they are expected to show a large dose
of discipline. They have to do their
homework, sit still during make-up,
scenes have to be rehearsed first and
then often redone dozens of times.
Strict laws
on child labour
The Dutch law dictates that the
Arbeidsinspectie (Labour Inspectorate) prescribes how many hours and
how often a child can work on the
set. Those rules are very strict. Elske
Falkena: ‘Apart from the official rules
of the labour and school inspectorate,
there are many other do’s and don’ts
with regard to children. For example, it is advisable to let children be
guided by someone with a pedagogical background, so he/she can teach
children between times and tune
their schoolwork with their teachers.
Furthermore, a film set always needs
to have a place where a child can withdraw, play games or rest. These rules
all flow from the many hours we shot
with kids. There is even a chaperone
now who bought her own camper, so
the children have their private cabin
on the set.’
47
Director Maria Peters (the purse
snatcher, little crumb) also works
with many children in her films. For
the role of Peter Bell, Maria Peters
calls in her own son: Quinten Schram
(1992). First, they ask a casting agency
for extras in Rotterdam to dispatch
a mailing, which attracts some three
hundred children. But the Peter is not
among them. Because a marketing
deal is closed with the well-known
Dutch peanut butter brand Calvé,
which necessitates a tentative photograph of Peter Bell, Maria makes her
son pose for it. And this gives her the
idea to let him participate in the casting. Eventually, he is picked and the
mischievous character of Peter Bell
is played on the silver screen by the
director’s son.
Casting directors regularly see that
when ‘the’ child walks in the door, all
signals turn green. Finding a Chinese
girl of seven for the film winky’s horse
(2005) is not particularly easy, but
when Ebbie Tam does her casting assignment, it is evident. Martha Mojet:
‘The assignment was: Your mother
goes on a trip and packs her things.
You don’t want her to leave. Mischa
Kamp, the director, played the mother.
Ebbie Tam said: ‘You want me to cry?’
We: ‘You don’t have to’, because we
were afraid she would mainly show
her grief. But Ebbie persisted: ‘I can
really cry, you know’. And we thought:
Okay, go ahead. While playing, the
And there are more examples where a
director’s child plays the leading part.
For instance, the little boy Sjimmie, in
sjors and sjimmie on pirat island
(1962) is played by the daughter (!) of
producer and director Henk van der
Linden; ‘She simply did best. Besides,
in those days it was hard to find a darkskinned boy. That’s why I decided to
put black make-up on my daughter.’
most beautiful tears welled up in her
eyes. Bitter tears trickled down her
cheeks. Mischa Kamp and I were
completely crushed. When Kamp said
cut, we both had tears in our eyes as
well, she as the mother, me behind the
camera. Ebbie dried hers and right,
that was that, what’s next.’
48
2010
The magicians
When his friend Sylvie disappears,
Ben must find out what is real and
what is an illusion.
Ben, an eight year old boy, learns
tricks from a master magician. He is
particularly fascinated by a special
and unusual disappearing trick. However, when his friend, Sylvie, seems
to have disappeared forever, Ben has
to find out what is real and what is
illusion.
93’ / 35mm / colour / 2010
Original title: het geheim
Genre: family
Screenplay: Frank Ketelaar
Producer: Topkapi Films
Cast: Thor Braun, Theo
Maassen (dunya and desie,
minoes), Chantal Janzen
(the hell of ’63, love is
all), Daan Schuurmans
(the secret letter, love
is all).
Awards: Special Jury Prize,
Montréal (2011), Audience
Award, Kristiansand (2011),
Feature Film Children’s Jury,
Chicago (2011), Best Film,
Madrid (2011)
Topkapi Films
Ph +31 20 303 2494
info@topkapifilms.nl
www.topkapifilms.nl
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
Filmography Joram Lürsen:
a.o. alfie the little werewolf
(2011), coach (2009), love is
all (2007), in orange (2004), my
french aunt gazeuse (1996)
a.o.
special jury
prize montréal
(2011)
49
2010
Eep!
Is it a girl or is it a bird? Whatever it is,
everybody wants her.
Birdie is a little girl with wings
instead of arms, who is found in the
woods by Warre and Tine. While Tine
does her best to raise Birdie as a normal little girl, the creature inevitably
flies away to the South. Tine is inconsolable, and so she embarks, with
Warre, on an exhilarating journey to
find her lost friend…
85’ / 35mm / colour / 2010
Original title: iep!
Genre: family
Lemming Fim
Ph +31 20 661 0424
info@lemmingfilm.vcom
Co-production: NL/BE
NL producer: Lemming Film
Cast: Huub Stapel (the
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
preacher, sea of silence),
Joke Tjalsma (de daltons),
Diederik Ebbinge
Awards:
a.o. Jury Award, Buster (2010),
Grand Prix, Montréal (2010),
oficial selection Berlinale
Generation Kplus (2010)
a.o.
grand prix,
montréal
(2010)
50
2010
Fuchsia the Mini Witch
Fuchsia sets off for witches’ school…
This must be the beginning of a new
and exciting adventure!
Great adventures can hatch from the
smallest eggs. Fuchsia wants to learn
to do magic just like her father, and
so she is pleased as punch when she
is allowed to go to witches’ school.
There, Fuchsia learns how to make
wind and conjure with the clouds. But
her magic quite often has unexpected
results, because sometimes she is a
little bit too ambitious… Fuchsia the
Mini Witch is the film adaptation of
the book by Paul van Loon.
88’ / 35mm / colour / 2010
Original title: foeksia de miniheks
Genre: family
Screenplay: Sander de Regt
NL producer: NL Film & TV
Cast: Rachelle Verdel, Porgy
Franssen (waiter,
schnitzel paradise), Annet
Malherbe (the last days
of emma blank, waiter),
Marcel Hensema.
Awards: Audience Award & Best
Dutch Children’s Film, Cinekid
(2010)
NL Film & TV
Ph +31 20 574 7626
info@nlfilm.tv
www.nlfilm.tv
Sales: Delphis Films Inc
Ph +1 514 843 3355
Filmography Johan Nijenhuis:
bennie stout (2011), alibi
(2007), zoo rangers in south
america (2007), zoo rangers
in india (2006), zoo rangers in
south africa (2005), full moon
party (2001), costa! (2001).
audience award,
cinekid (2010)
51
2010
Happily ever after
A family film about love, desire and
believing in fairytales.
A collection of classic fairytales such
as Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, with a nod and a wink to
contemporary times. The film offers
characters such as the ‘ugly sisters’
Paris and Hilton, an updated relationship between Red Riding Hood and
the big bad wolf, homosexuality and
corny humour. Also musical scenes in
which the characters sing the songs
of current pop artists as well as many
popular Dutch hits.
85’ / 35mm / colour / 2010
Original title: lang en gelukkig
Genre: family, comedy
Director: Pieter Kramer
Screenplay: Don Duyns
Producer: Nijenhuis & de Levita
Film and TV
Cast: Arjan Ederveen (pluk and
his tow truck), Jack Wouterse
(crusade in jeans), Alex Klaasen
(love is all), Gijs Naber (black
book).
Awards: a.o. Audience Award,
Netherlands Film Festival (2010)
NL Film and TV
Ph +31 20 574 7627
info@nlfilm.tv
www.nlfilm.tv
Filmography Pieter Kramer:
alice in glamourland (2004), yes
nurse! no nurse! (2002).
audience
award,
netherlands
(2010)
52
focus
Adaptations
and icons
Most successful
Dutch children’s
films in the past
decade:
Boxoffice Hits 2000–2010
Minoes
(2001)
(2008)
peter bell (2002)
war in wintertiMe
the skipper of the kaMeleon
2 (2003)
anubis (2008)
peter bell
(2003)
Admissions
837,532
837,405
820,792
744,520
594,290
561,061
482,787
481,866
460,701
456,824
The Dutch audience is
pluk and his tow truck (2004)
prepared to go to the
crusade in jeans (2006)
cinema. And the biggest
yes nurse, no nurse (2002)
box-office hits in the past
chubby druMs (2010)
decade are, as shown
above, adaptations of
well-known books or TV
the flying liftboy already proved in
series. It is always easier to generate
1998. Filmmaker and producer Burny
publicity for a film based on a book
Bos remains the leader with his acquior an icon than for purely authentic
sition of Annie M.G. Schmidt titles. It
films. Despite efforts by professionals
is paramount to keep the target group
from the film sector, it is a plain fact
in mind.
that most visitors prefer something
familiar over something new. Director
Ineke Houtman: ‘The many adaptaThe biggest box-office
tions have brought about that the chilhits are adaptations
dren’s film in the Netherlands became
commercially more interesting. It was
Director Johan Nijenhuis, for example,
taken seriously by the industry. ‘
learned a lot from his guru Joop van
den Ende, a famous Dutch TV producA film with a familiar title can be
er, about the commercial approach to
released on a large scale, with many
TV programmes and about marketingcopies and a large marketing and
and target group-oriented thinking. In
publicity budget, as the makers of
53
the days of costa! (2001) and full
moon (2002), he learns how to hype
up a film. Nijenhuis: ‘Van den Ende
taught me the basic rules: “Johan,
make sure you’ve got your story ready,
don’t assume journalists will tell the
right story by themselves.” Another tip
from his inspirer is you always have to
ensure you get some personal attention, too. ‘Because one day you will
want to make a film without any big
stars, and then it will come in handy to
have your personal story.‘
Nijenhuis recognises the huge potential of adaptations. Nijenhuis: ‘It’s
harder to market original stories than
successful books. There are fewer
hooks to hang things on.’ He buys
the movie rights to the book Fuchsia
the Mini Witch by the famous awardwinning Dutch writer Paul van Loon.
This obviously comes off very well
publicity-wise.
Nijenhuis passes with flying colours.
fuchsia the mini witch (2010) is
embraced by both young and old: at
Cinekid 2010, the film clinches both
the general audience award (Z@pp
Cinekid Leeuw) and the audience
award for best Dutch Children’s Film.
The film also attracts foreign interest. It is sold to Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Indonesia, Russia and
Spain. Saliently, the film is not sold in
the United States: not because it has a
scary dragon, but because of its pipesmoking mother.
Another famed icon from Dutch cinema is
Dik Trom, the protagonist from a popular
book series from the 1930s. The stories in
which Dik Trom has all sorts of adventures are adapted no fewer than eight
times. The first film is released in 1937
and is also the very first Dutch children’s
film. The latest adaptation of Dik Trom,
directed by Arne Toonen (called chubby
druMs), is released in 2010. Producer
Hans de Weers from Eyeworks realises
he is skating on thin ice, because the
screenplay does not refer to the adventures Dik Trom has in the books at all. De
Weers only uses the name Dik Trom and
the boy’s appearance: Chubby. By enlisting director Arne Toonen, he manages to
realise an invigorating film, the story and
style of which stay far from nostalgia. And
it works, because the film is received well
in the Netherlands. With 456,824 visitors, it
is the most popular children’s film of 2010.
54
2010
Chubby drums
When Chubby moves from Fat Town
to Thin City he has to make some
changes, both literally and figuratively.
Chubby is a happy, honest and slightly overweight boy whose parents one
day decide to move to Thin City to
open a restaurant. But it seems that
a waistline-altering restaurant is the
last thing Thin City wants. Chubby
is also having trouble blending in
and is, for the first time, aware of his
own body - especially after falling in
love with Lieve. Will Chubby win her
heart? And will Thin City realise that
calories are really not so important?
85’ / 35mm / colour / 2010
Genre: family
Original title: dik trom
Eyeworks Film & TV
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
Director: Arne Toonen
Screenplay: Luuk van
Bemmelen, Mischa Alexander,
Wijo Koek
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
Producer: Eyeworks Film & TV
Cast: Michael Nierse, Marcel
Musters (black book),
Thijs Römer (blind date),
Loes Haverkort.
Filmography Arne Toonen:
(2012), drop dead
(2009), oh dear (2009)
black out
55
2010
The secret letter
Things take a turn for the worse when
a young girl decides to run away from
home.
Based on the book by Dutch writer
Jan Terlouw, The Secret Letter tells
the story of 11-year old Eva who is
fed up with all the tension at home.
In order to teach her parents a lesson
she decides therefore to hide in her
best friend’s house. But, after she
finds a secret letter, she gets caught in
the garden of neighbour Brandsema,
the head of a criminal organisation,
and is forced to radically change her
plans.
Simone van Dusseldorp, director
and scriptwriter.
‘Television is an
important platform for making
productions for children. I really learned a lot working for TV.
Because I was allowed to make
so many programmes, I could
educate myself. Working with
children is something you really
have to learn. You have to shoot
for many hours. I was allowed
to experiment a lot in television;
broadcasting company VPRO
was very open-minded towards
try-outs. The VPRO was a kind of
laboratory for me; I could determine what did and did not come
across, what sort of directing did
or did not work.’
78’ / 35mm / colour / 2010
Original title: briefgeheim
Genre: family
Director: Simone van
Dusseldorp
Screenplay: Marco van Geffen,
Anna van der Heide
Cast: Hanna Obbeek (marathon
girl, a women of the
north), Daan Schuurmans
(the dark house, love
is all), Lies Visschedijk
(loft, love is all).
Filmography Simone van
Dusseldorp: frogs & toads
(2009, feature), doggie (2008,
short), subiet! (2006), deep
(2005, feature)
Festivals & Awards:
Jury Award Best Feature Film,
Nueva Mirada (2010), Best
Dutch Childrens Film, Cinekid
(2010)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
Sales: Delphis Film
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
a.o.
best dutch
childrens film,
cinekid (2010)
56
2009
Lover of loser
Eva is forced to learn the hard way
who to trust, and who not to trust…
Eva is afraid of her sex-obsessed stepfather Willem. Feeling forlorn, she
meets Ricardo, a streetwise hustler
who cheers her up, promising a trip
to Paris. But instead he drags her to
a sex club where she’s held prisoner.
Mees, on whom she has a crush, embarks on a desperate search to rescue
her but his arrival at the sex club
coincides with a police raid, at which
point Eva is astonished to discover
that Willem is actually an undercover
vice cop.
100’ / 35mm / colour / 2009
Original title: lover of loser
Screenplay: Maria Peters
Producer: Shooting Star
Filmcompany, Lover or Loser
Film
Cast: Gaite Jansen (dusk,
coach), Ruud Feltkamp
(little crumb, young
kees), Martijn Lakemeier
(winter in wartime),
Susan Visser (black book,
amazons).
furious (2011), desperate
(2008), timboektoe (2007).
Ph +31 20 624 7272
www.shootingstar.nl
Sales: MountainRoad
Entertainment Group (Sjef
Scholte)
Ph +31 35 623 55 59
57
2009
My dad’s
a detective!
The mysterious
fortress island
When sleuth Sam helps his
bungling detective father with a
case, he and his friends land in
a hair-raising adventure.
Max isn’t as good a detective
as he thinks. His son Sam’s a
better sleuth. Together with his
tomboy neighbor and a rich
baron’s son, Sam helps Max
search for a stolen rare parrot.
When a band of criminals kidnaps Max, the kids tail them in
a speedboat and strand on a remote island fort. Something’s
being hidden there… As they
unravel the mystery, they’re
pursued by a creepy villain who
guards the fort day and night.
84’ / 35mm / colour / 2009
competition (2012), my dad’s a
detective!
– het geheimzinnige
forteiland
detective
- the
- witches paradise
(2011), dropouts (1999)
Cast: Cees Geel (simon), Tygo
Gernandt (godforsaken!),
Camilla Siegertz (far
from family), Peer Mascini
(blind date).
Awards:
Moviesquad Junior Award,
Netherlands (2009)
A’dam Films
Ph + 31 20 489 9022
moviesquad
junior award
(2009)
58
2009
The indian
Koos desperately wants to resemble
his imposing, white dad but that is difficult as he is small and dark.
Koos, a boy not yet eight, very much
wants to look like his impressive,
Dutch father - not an easy thing to do
as Koos, adopted from Peru, is rather
small and of dark complexion. One
day he sees a Peruvian boy playing a
strange kind of music outside the supermarket and discovers that he, like
the boy, is of Indian origin. From that
day on, despite his Dutch parents, he
tries his very best to be a true Indian…
90’ / 35mm / colour / 2009
Original title: de indiaan
Genre: family
Screenplay: Nynke Klompmaker
Co-Producer: Lemming Film,
VPRO
Producer: BosBros.
Cast: Matthias den Besten,
Bastiaan Ragas,
Angelique de Bruijne,
Hans Dagelet.
Awards: a.o. Children Film
Award, BUFF (2010), Best Film,
Nueva Mirada (2010), Jury
Award, London (2010)
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
my grandpa the bankrobber
(2011), the indian (2009), when
night falls (2004),daisy (1998)
a.o.
children film
award, buff
(2010)
59
2009
Frogs & toads
Six year-old Max and his girlfriend
Jesse go on a musical adventure
through nature to find frogspawn.
Six year-old Max must undertake
an important mission: to find some
frogspawn for his older brother.
Together with his girlfriend
Jesse he journeys over fields,
past farms and animals and
through a forest that eventually
leads to his grandma’s home. During
his magical adventure through nature
he is continually entertained and
encouraged with cheerful children’s
songs.
70’ / 35mm / colour / 2009
Original title: kikkerdril
Genre: children’s film
Director: Simone van
Dusseldorp
Screenplay: Simone van
Dusseldorp
Co-Producer: BosBros. KRO
Cast: Nino Morris den Brave,
Whitney Franker (abi),
Juul Vrijdag (love is all,
sea of silence), Georgina
Verbaan (alibi, eric in the
land of insects).
Awards: a.o. Best Feature Film,
Montevideo (2009), Ludi Award,
Kristiansand (2009), Silver
Statue, Tehran (2009), Main
Prize Of The City Of Chemnitz,
Schlingel (2009)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
Filmography Simone van
Dusseldorp: secret letter
(2010), doggie (2008, short),
subiet! (2006), deep (2005)
a.o.
best feature,
montevideo
(2010)
60
2008
The letter for the king
When Tiuri fails in his quest to
become a knight, he sets off on an
adventurous journey of discovery.
Just as the young nobleman Tiuri is
to be knighted, fate intervenes and he
fails his final test. But soon Tiuri is
compelled to complete the quest of a
mortally wounded knight who was on
an errand to prevent a war. Misunderstood by his king, Tiuri goes on the
run from friends and foes alike, his
adventurous journey taking him to
an unknown land where he discovers
much about strangers, true friendship, love, and of course life.
110’ / 35mm / colour / 2008
Original title: de drief voor de
koning
Genre: adventure/family film
Director: Pieter Verhoeff
Screenplay: Maarten Lebens,
Pieter Verhoeff
NL Producer: Eyeworks Film &
TV, Armada
Co-Producer: Studio.TV.film
(DE), Heimatfilm GmbH & Co.
KG (DE), ZDF (GER), KRO (NL)
D.O.P.: Jules van den
Steenhoven
Cast: Yannick van de Velde
(in orange, young
kees), Quinten Schram
(timboektoe, peter bell),
Daan Schuurmans (love
is all, bonkers), Victor
Reinier (the horseless
prince, tesistance).
Filmografie Pieter Verhoeff:
a.o. nynke (2001), the sunday
boy (1991), count your
(1987), the dream
(1985), the sign of the beast
(1980)
blessings
Awards: Children’s Jury Best
Live Action Feature Film,
Chicago (2009), Children’s Jury
Best Film, Hyderabad (2009)
Eyeworks Film & TV
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
Sales: Delphis Film Inc.
Ph +1 514 843-3355
xiao@delhpisfilms.com
a.o.
best live
action,
chicago (2010)
61
2008
Dunya & Desie
in Morocco
A heartwarming roadmovie about best
friends Dunya and Desie.
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2008
Original title: dunya & desie in
marokko
Dunya is Moroccan, raised with
Ramadan, Imams and Mecca. Desie
is as Dutch as Cheese, Wooden Shoes
and Tulips. On her 18th birthday,
Dunya learns that her family wants
her to get married to some nephew
from Morocco. She doesn’t really feel
like doing so. At the same time Desie
gets pregnant what makes her want to
meet her own biological father. When
she finds out he lives in Morocco, she
and Dunya decide to go to Morocco to
find him.
Awards: a.o. Best Teen Film
Award, Sarajevo (2008), CIFEJ
Prize,Tel Aviv (2008), Special
Mention, Buenos Aires (2008)
Director: Dana Nechushtan
Screenplay: Robert Alberdingk
Thijm
in coproduction with NPS
Television
Cast: Eva van de Wijdeven,
Maryam Hassouni
Filmography Dana Nechushtan
nightrun (2006), offers (2005),
necrocam (2001), de belager
(2000), totalloss (2000)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
a.o.
best teen
film award,
sarajevo (2008)
62
2008
How to survive
myself?
Thirteen-year old Rosa moves
to Groningen. Will she survive
the struggle with her new stepdad, her insecurity, and her
alter ego Rooz?
Thirteen-year old Rosa is a
sensitive girl with a vivid imagination. But she is insecure and
forced by her mother to live
with a new step-father. Finding
it difficult to cope within her
new surroundings, Rosa creates in her mind Rooz, a brash
and overly-confident version of
herself. Under Rooz’s influence
she begins to exhibit increasingly extreme behaviour.
When she meets Neuz however, a 16-year old talented
graffiti artist, she feels able to
finally confront and banish
her malign alter ego. And with
Neuz, she also yields to her
first kiss.
90’ / 35mm / colour / 2008
Original title: hoe overleef ik
mezelf?
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Director: Nicole van Kilsdonk
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Jolijn van der Wiel,
Mees Peijnenburg, Janni
Goslinga, Romijn Comen
Filmography Nicole van
Kilsdonk: taking chances
(2011), heading west (2010),
security (2009), johan (2004),
making waves (2003)
Festivals:
Sprockets Toronto (2009),
Kristiansand (2009), Belfast
Cinemagic (2009), Giffoni (2009)
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
63
2008
Desperate
After the death of his father
and rejection by his girlfriend,
who can the devastated Paco
turn to in his hour of need?
Yara is a beautiful teenager
with a crush on her classmate,
Paco. Paco has a girlfriend and
considers Yara just a friend.
When her mother arranges for
her to audition for a modelling
agency, Yara develops some
strange dietary habits - maybe
Paco will think she’s more attractive if she’s skinnier. When
Paco’s father suddenly dies, his
entire world crashes around
him. And when his girlfriend
leaves him, who can Paco turn
to in this desperate hour?
110’ / 35mm / colour / 2008
Original title: radeloos
Company
Co-Producer: Just Bridge
Entertainment
Cast: Marius Gottlieb
(character), Marloes van
der Wel, Robin Martens,
Roos Smit.
(2011), lover or loser
(2009), timboektoe (2007).
furious
Ph +31 20 624 7272
www.shootingstar.nl
JustBridge
Ph +31 31 35 562 86090
eric@justbridge.nl
www.justbridge.nl
64
2008
Winter in wartime
In order to become an adult,
you will have to lose your
innocence.
Holland. January 1945. People
are heading east to feed their
families. Adolescent Michiel is
eager to do something for the
resistance and finally feels that
he is taken seriously when his
neighbour Dirk asks him to deliver a letter. But Dirk is caught
and the letter’s recipient is
shot by the Germans. Michiel
soon learns there’s only a small
distinction in between good
and evil. He grows, now lonely
but independent. He will never
be the same again.
103’ / 35mm / colour / 2008
Original title: oorlogswinter
Genre: family
Director: Martin Koolhoven
Screenplay: Paul Jan Nelissen,
Mieke de Jong, Martin
Koolhoven
Co-Producer: Prime Time (BE),
Omroep Max (NL)
Producer: Isabella Films (NL),
Fu Works (NL)
Cast: Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick
van Wageningen (the
Awards: a.o. Silver Marc’Aurelio
Award, Rome (2010),
Nomination Century City
Satellite Awards (2009), Special
Mention, Pyrgos (2009)
Isabella Films
Ph +31 20 422 9199
els@isabellafilms.com
www.isabellafilms.com
High Point Films & Television
Ph +44 20 7424 6870
info@highpointfilms.co.uk
www.highpointfilms.co.uk
new world tulse luper
suitcase), Jamie Campbell
Bower (sweeney todd),
Raymond Thiry (the
letter for the king).
Filmography Martin Koolhoven:
happy family (2006), schnitzel
paradise (2005), bonkers
(2005), the south (2004), the
cave (2001), amnesia (2001),
suzy q (1999)
a.o. silver
marc’aurelio
award, rome
(2010)
65
Mieke de Jong,
scriptwriter.
‘Thinking in target
groups has changed
the children’s film, but also professionalised it. It’s clearer now who
you make a film for and that’s why it
attracts more people. I prefer filming
my own stories, but I notice it’s getting harder to sell them. Producers
now ask me for a scenario they can
catch a large audience with. Producers have to earn money, so they’re
looking for success. That’s a lot
easier if you start with a book. We’ve
seen this tendency since the success
of book adaptations. If I try to realise
my own plan, I know I’ll have to keep
it small, or nobody will finance it. It
will automatically be a small film,
because nobody knows the story.’
66
2008
Morrison gets
a baby sister
Five-year-old Morrison runs
away after the new baby arrives. To complicate things
even more, he takes his newborn sister with him…
In the middle of the night,
Morrison’s dad comes running
up the stairs in a panic. Morrison has to get dressed. The
baby is coming, a week earlier
than expected. Dad has just
enough time to drive Morrison
to his aunt at the convent. But
Morrison manages to escape,
and hides. Panic breaks out.
Outside, the police are leading
a massive search for Morrison
while inside the family home,
mum gives birth to a baby
girl, Simone. Morrison hears
her crying in the distance and
decides to wait for the first
available opportunity…
70’ / 35mm / colour / 2008
Original title: morrison krijgt
een zusje
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Genre: family
Director: Barbara Bredero
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Tobias Lamberts, Barry
Atsma, Bracha van
Doesburgh (schnitzel
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
paradise, too fat too
furious).
Awards: a.o. Bronze Prize,
Cairo (2009), The CIFEJ
Jury Prize, Frankfurt (2009),
Participation Prize, China (2009)
a.o.
bronze prize,
cairo (2009)
67
2008
Sniff the dog
Orphan Tom and his dog Sniff help
liberate a Frisian village during World
War II.
Friesland 1945. His parents killed in
the bombing of Rotterdam, Tom is
living in his uncle’s farm in Friesland
to hide from the enemy. When he arrives, he is given a beautiful German
Shepherd to keep him company, and
the two become inseparable. But as
the battlelines approach ever more
near, Tom and his Jewish friend, Mirjam, who is also hiding on the farm,
must embark upon the adventure of
a lifetime to help the Canadian forces
free their country.
100’ / 35mm / colour / 2008
Original title: snuf de hond in
oorlogstijd
Genre: family
Screenplay: Jasper Beerthuis
Producer: Two Young Rights,
Bridge Entertainment Group
Cast: Sanneke Bos, Bas Muijs,
Rense Westra, Steven de
Jong (kameleon 2, storm
bound)
penny’s shadow (2011),
(2007), kameleon 2 (2005), de
skippers of the kameleon (2003)
Sales: MountainRoad
Entertainment Group
Ph +31 35 623 55 59
Mob +31 6 537 218 27
68
2007
Bontekoe’s
young sailors
Three teenagers from a Dutch harbour town set out to sea as members
of Captain Bontekoe’s crew.
The ship is bound for exotic lands
and every day introduces the boys to
new challenges. When approaching
Java, a fire breaks out which destroys
the ship. The boys manage to reach
land but it’s not the haven they expected. The island natives are intent
on killing them, but one of the local
girls helps the boys and leads them
on a perilous journey through the
jungle to safety.
35mm / colour / 100’ / 2007
Original title: de scheepsjongens
van bontekoe
Genre: family
Screenplay: Mischa Alexander,
Steven de Jong
Producer: Two Young Rights
Cast: Pim Wessels, Martijn
Hendrickx, Billy Zomerdijk,
Reena Giasi, Peter
Tuinman, Thomas Acda
(2011), sniff
(2008),
kameleon 2 (2005), de skippers
of the kameleon (2003)
penny’s shadow
the dog in wartime
contact:
Klaas de Jong
Ph +31 56 6602336
klaas@kiar.nl
69
2007
The Seven of Daran
‘The battle
of Pareo rock’
The first in a series of seven
international family films
based on the ancient myths
entitled ‘The Seven of Daran.’
The story of Jimmy, an 11-year
old European boy who goes
to Africa with his mother, a
busy executive. One day Jimmy
encounters a mysterious talking giraffe who tells Jimmy
that he can stop an upcoming
battle between two quarrelling African tribes. Together
with a poor African girl Jimmy
embarks on an adventurous
and magical trip through the
African wilderness to stop the
battle.
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2007
Original title: the seven of daran
‘the battle of pareo rock’
Genre: family
Director: Lourens Blok
Screenplay: Bart Juttmann,
Rolf Visser
Producer: AAA Pictures
Cast: Johann Harmse, Ketrice
Maitisa, Caroline Goodall,
Eddie Eckstein
Awards: a.o. Best Feature Film,
Cairo (2009), Young People’s
Jury Award, Sprockets (2009)
AAA Pictures
Ph. +31 29 944 66 00
info@aaa-pictures.com
www.aaa-pictures.com
a.o.
best feature film,
cairo (2009)
70
2007
Timboektoe
The parents of Isa (14) and Kars (16)
bought a camping site called Timboektoe in France and they all move
to France.
Their parents are not able to spent
a moment with their kids and Isa
and Kars find it difficult to adjust.
Isa meets Jules and his friends, who
all seem to have their problems as
well. One day they find out a five star
camping nearby will be opened. The
owner declares war to Timboektoe.
Will camping site Timboektoe be able
to survive?
35mm / colour / 105’ / 2007
Original title: timboektoe
Company
Cast: Bo Maerten, Mees
Peijnenburg, Willem
Voogd, Anna Raadsveld,
Geza Weisz, Reinout
Scholten van Aschat
furious (2011), lover or loser
(2009, feature), desperate
(2008, feature)
Shooting Star filmcompany BV,
Ph +31 20 624 7272
www.shootingstar.nl
Sales: MountainRoad
Entertainment Group
Sjef Scholte
Ph +31 35 623 55 59
Mob +31 6 537 218 27
71
2007
Captain Rob
and the secret of
professor Lupardi
Captain Rob is both a sailor
and a secret agent.
When he is summoned to
investigate an audacious gold
heist he realises that only one
person can be responsible, the
mad scientist Lupardi. Meanwhile it appears that Holland’s
climate is fluctuating wildly.
There is a danger that the
canals may freeze over in the
spring, it seems certain that
Professor Lupardi is hatching an evil plan to control
the world’s climate. But even
Captain Rob could never have
imagined the full extent of
Lupardi’s wickedness.
35mm / colour / 95’ / 2007
Filmography Hans Pos:
bella bettien (2002)
Original title: kapitein rob en het
geheim van professor lupardi
Genre: family
Director: Hans Pos
Screenplay: Pieter J. Kuhn,
Hans Pos, Simon de Waal
Filmcompany
Cast: Thijs Römer, Katja
Schuurman, Arjan
Ederveen, Alex Klaasen,
Jack Wouterse
Ph +31 20 624 7272
www.shootingstar.nl
72
2007
Where is Winky’s
horse?
St Nicholas won’t be back for
another year and Winky must
take care of his horse Amerigo
on her aunt and uncle’s farm.
They teach her everything they
know about grooming and
Winky takes riding lessons
on a pony. But what she really
wants is to ride Amerigo. But
that’s not allowed because the
horse is too big. Back at home,
there is a surprise awaiting
Winky, her mother is pregnant.
One day, when she is alone at
the farm, Winky does something very naughty and with
terrible consequences…
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2007
Original title: waar is het paard
van sinterklaas?
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Genre: family
NL producer: BosBros
Cast: Ebbie Tam, Aaron Wan,
Hanyi Han, Jan Decleir,
Betty Schuurman
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
tony ten (2012), because of
the fish (2008, short), winky’s
horse (2005)
Awards : a.o. Adult Jury Prize,
Chicago (2008), official selection
Berlinale - Generation Kplus
(2008)
a.o.
adult jury prize,
chicago (2008)
73
Mischa Kamp,
director.
‘We take children’s
films seriously in the
Netherlands. The initial step was
taken from within the TV world, were
there people active who thought
it was important to make quality
programs and mature drama for children. These were people with vision,
passion and energy for children’s
programs. They invested in tv programs for children, and later also in
children’s films. Nowadays more and
more children’s films are developed
and realized, raising the odds that
they have quality.’
74
2007
Zoo rangers in
South America
This time the adventure moves
to the Andes and the rainforests of South America, as the
intrepid Zoo Rangers gang battles against the odds to save
an extremely rare butterfly from
total extinction.
Splitting into two groups, the
Rangers encounter high level
excitement and terrible danger
at every turn, including crocodiles, tarantulas and a lovestricken ape. Then they uncover
an underground criminal plot
that threatens to destroy the entire South American rainforest.
They must save the planet from
ecological disaster.
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2007
Festivals: a.o. Kolkata (2009),
Lithuania (2009), Chennai (2009)
Original title: zoop in zuid
amerika
Genre: family, adventure
Screenplay: Wijo Koek, Anya
Koek
NL producer: NL Film
Cast: Thomas Berge, Peggy
Jane de Schepper, Nicolas
Dolensky, Juliette van
Ardenne, Vivienne van den
Assem, Nicolette van Dam,
Ewout Genemans, Patrick
Martens,
bennie stout (2011), fuchsia the
mini witch (2010), alibi (2007),
zoo rangers in india (2006), zoo
rangers in south africa (2005),
full moon party (2001), costa!
(2001).
NL Film & TV
Ph +31 20 574 7626
info@nlfilm.tv
www.nlfilm.tv
Ph +44 20 7424 6870
75
2006
Crusade in jeans
Fifteen year old Dolf misses a crucial
shot at goal and knocks his team out
of the competition.
Feeling he can’t live with his mistake, Dolf breaks into his mother’s
advanced physics laboratory which
holds an experimental time machine.
Intending to go back in time to replay
the football match, Dolf accidentally
sends himself to the 13th century.
Here he meets the feisty Jenne and
the 8000 children of the Children’s
Crusade. He quickly becomes their
leader and tries to save the children
from a sinister plot to enslave them.
35mm / colour / 120’ / 2006
Original title: kruistocht in
spijkerbroek
Screenplay: Ben Sombogaart,
Bill Haney, Jean-Claude Van
Co-production: NL/BE/DE/LU/
HU/US
NL producer: Kees Kasander,
Kasander Film
Cast: Joe Flynn, Stephanie
Leonidas, Emily Watson
Filmography Ben Sombogaart:
to be king (2012), crusade in
jeans (2009), pluk and his tow
truck (2004), the flying liftboy
(1998), my father lives in rio
(1989)
Awards: a.o. Children’s Jury
Award, Chicago (2007), Young
People’s Jury Award, Toronto
Sprockets (2008), Official
selection Berlin Generation
Kplus (2007)
Sales: Celsius Entertainment
Ph +44 207 193 1801
info@celsiusentertainment.com
www.celsiusentertainment.com
a.o.
chidrens jury
award,
chicago (2007)
76
2006
Zoo Rangers
in India
When the Zoo Rangers hear that
a herd of elephants has been kidnapped and is being held at a secret
location in India, they travel all the
way to get to the bottom of it.
On the way to uncovering the truth,
the Rangers take part in a real Bollywood film, brave the most terrifying perils of the Indian jungle, make
friends with a young elephant, avoid
killer snakes, and race through Mumbai perched in rickshaws to escape a
gang of armed ivory smugglers.
35mm / colour / 85’ / 2006
(2011), fuchsia the
(2010), alibi (2007),
bennie stout
Original title: zoop in india
Koek, Johan Nijenhuis
Cast: Juliette van Ardenne,
Vivienne van den Assem,
Nicolette van Dam, Ewout
Genemans, Jon Karthaus,
Patrick Martens, Monique
van der Werff
mini witch
zoo rangers in south america
(2007), zoo rangers in south
africa (2005), full moon party
(2001), costa! (2001).
Festivals: a.o. Zlin (2007),
Kolkata (2009)
NL Film & TV
Ph +31 20 574 7626
info@nlfilm.tv
www.nlfilm.tv
Ph +44 20 7424 6870
77
2006
XTC, just don’t do it
A group of teenage friends experiment with new opportunities that
come with growing up.
For some, that leads to doing the
right thing. But for Melissa, freedom
leads to too many temptations. She’s
always wanted to be a dancer and is
thrilled but scared to be chosen to
dance in a new rap video with the
super popular Brainpower. One of the
cast members offers to help her calm
down, he offers her a pill. Just one
little pill. Before she knows it, she’s
hooked.
35mm / colour / 108’ / 2006
Original title: afblijven
Director: Maria Peters
Filmcompany
Cast: Sem Veeger, Matthijs van
de Sande Bakhuyzen, Gijs
Scholten van Aschat
Filmography Maria Peters :
peter bell 2 (2003), peter bell
(2002), little crumb (1999), the
pursesnatcher (1995)
Festivals: a.o. Toronto
Sprockets (2007), Kristiansand
(2007), Eilat (2007)
Sales: MountainRoad
Entertainment Group
Ph +31 35 623 55 59
Mob +31 6 537 218 27
78
focus
Broccoli
and fries
the importance of offering
diversity to children
Early 2000, the range of Dutch children’s films is quite diverse. They exhibit a difference in approach between
the big commercial film, often based
on a well-known book, and the author’s film, giving prominence to the
filmmaker’s authenticity. Commercial
films like little crumb, peter bell
and skippers of the kameleon
clearly have the upper hand, because
more often than not people opt for
this safe course. But there are also
filmmakers who want to focus on
original stories, often motivated by
the urge to broach socially relevant
themes.
Focus on original
stories and socially
relevant themes
Director Ineke Houtman made the
film polleke in 2003. ‘polleke was
a very important film for me to make,
especially in a social-cultural sense. It
brought about a kind of fraternisation,
something I really endorse in these
times. I love it when a film has some
sort of social impact.’
At the start of the century, film producer Leontine Petit, responsible for hit
films like dunya & desie, my grandpa
the bankrobber and lepel, also
realises the importance of emphasising serious themes in children’s films
and of authentic narratives. Petit
thinks it’s time the original children’s
story gets a full place among the total
array of children’s films. ‘I feel it’s
important to offer children diversity.
It’s no problem that kids prefer fries to
broccoli. But now and then it’s best to
serve them something different.’
Petit herself was deeply impressed by
the penknife: ‘One of my favourite
films. A very simple story that leads to
a wonderful youngster’s experience
that is tangible for both adults and
children. Besides, it’s one of the first
films told from a child’s perspective.’
79
With bonkers, scriptwriter Mieke
de Jong presents a non-commonplace problem in an accessible
way. She puts herself in the head
of a girl whose mother is a manicdepressive. The strength of telling
this story in a light-hearted way
lies in the fact the girl never calls
her mother depressed, but an
‘all-or-nothing mother’. De Jong:
‘This is the way a child looks at
problems like these. I approach
everything that happens through
children’s eyes. The mother is
never looked at from an adult’s
perspective; the story is told entirely from the child.’
The Cinema Junior
project
Together with funds and broadcasting
companies she initiates the Cinema
Junior project, offering writers and
directors the opportunity, after a selection procedure, to create authentic
stories for so-called author’s films,
which should complement the family films that are screened in every
theatre.
The first round yields the films off
side (2006, screenplay and direction:
Arend Steenbergen) and bonkers
(2005, screenplay: Mieke de Jong,
Bonkers (2005)
direction: Martin Koolhoven). off
side is a coming-of-age story about
pestering, threats and the need to
stick up for yourself. Director Arend
Steenbergen wants off side to be a raw
film, stepping away from the decent
children’s film. He thinks there are
enough of those as it is.
In 2009, in the Cinema Junior series,
frogs & toads and the indian are
conceived. the indian, written by
Nynke Klompmaker, deals with the
8-year-old, adopted boy Koos. He is actually a descendant of the Incas from
Peru, and when his all-Dutch parents
get a biological child after all, he starts
looking for his roots. With this film,
director Ineke Houtman can elaborate
on her wish to broach social themes
for children. The film frogs & toads
(screenplay and direction: Simone van
Dusseldorp) is based on the interest
Van Dusseldorp’s own daughters have
in nature. With frogs & toads, she
wants to make a vital and cheerful
film, skipping grave themes, as ‘those
are still lost on the littlest ones,’ Van
Dusseldorp feels.
80
2006
Off side
A raw and intense children’s film
about 12-year old Don who is kicked
out of school.
At his new school he is an outcast
because he is too fancy for the mostly
black kids. They don’t accept him and
give him a hard time until he reveals
that he is a great soccer player. His
new role as captain of the school team
suits him well. But he is having a hard
time keeping this undisciplined, motley crew of players together and, more
importantly, getting them to win!
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2006
Original title: don
Genre: children’s
Director: Arend Steenbergen
Screenplay: Arend Steenbergen
Cast: Clemens Levert, Keisha
Boye, Marius Gottlieb,
Samir Veen, Reinout
Bussemaker
Festivals:
a.o. Giffoni (2006), Montevideo
(2006), Hamburg (2006)
Filmografie Arend Steenbergen:
milan and the souls (2004), two
dreams (2004), najibs father
(1993)
Eyeworks Film & TV
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
81
2005
Bonkers
Nine-year old Bonnie is living
with her mother Lis and her
grandmother.
Lis is a sweet but unusual
mother. Sometimes she is very
lively and cheerful, but she can
be very gloomy too. Luckily
grandma is always around to
look after things. But when
grandma has a traffic accident,
everything changes. When Lis
starts dating, Bonnie hopes her
biggest wish will come true: a
little brother. But Lis thinks a
pet will be a better idea. To surprise Bonnie, Lis brings home
a very special pet: an elephant!
35mm / colour / 84’ / 2005
Original title: knetter
Genre: children
NL producer: Lemming Film in
co-production with A Private
View
Cast: Jesse Rinsma, Tom
van Kessel, Carice van
Houten, Frieda Pittoors,
Daan Schuurmans
Awards: a.o. Best Picture, Cairo
(2006), Young Audience Award,
Leeds (2006), Best Picture, Zlin
(2006), Children’s Jury Award,
London (2006)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
winter in wartime (2008),
happy family (2006), schnitzel
paradise (2005), bonkers
(2005), the south (2004), the
cave (2001), amnesia (2001),
suzy q
(1999)
a.o.
best picture,
cairo (2006)
82
2005
The horror bus
Eleven-year old Onnoval is an outsider at school and neglected by his
parents.
He writes ghost stories and romantic
poems to express his feelings. One
night Onnoval sees his girlfriend
Liselore kissing his classmate Gino.
Onnoval takes revenge on Gino by
scripting him in ‘The Horror Bus’, a
terrifying ghost story about a school
trip that turns fatal. When the story
comes true and Onnoval finds out
Liselore was blackmailed, he regrets
what he has done. Will he stop the
catastrophy before it is too late?
35mm / colour / 100’ / 2005
Original title: de griezelbus
Genre: family 8+
Director: Pieter Kuijpers
Screenplay: Burny Bos, Pieter
Kuijpers
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Serge Price, Jim van der
Panne, Lisa Smit, Willem
Nijholt, Angela Schijf
Filmography Pieter Kuijpers:
(2003), off
(2005), dennis p (2007),
nothing to lose (2008)
Awards : a.o. Best Film, Leeds
(2007), Best Picture, Chicago
(2006), Special Mention,
Frankfurt am Main (2006)
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
godforsaken
screen
a.o.
best film,
leeds
(2007)
83
2005
Kameleon 2
Following the success of The Skippers of the Kameleon, the top-ranking
Dutch feature film in 2003, director
Steven de Jong once more revives
the pranks of the Frisian twins.
kameleon 2 deals with materialism
versus idealism, or the urban capitalists versus the placid villagers. In the
film, the inhabitants of Lenten threaten to fall victim to a money-hungry
real estate developer who wants to
construct a highway and a residential
area in the pastoral village. Lenten is
in a state of commotion.
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2005
Original title: kameleon 2
Genre: family
Screenplay: Steven de Jong,
Jean Ummels
Producer: Kameleon Produkties,
Two Young Rights
Cast: Koen van der Donk, Jos
van der Donk, Maarten
Spanjer
penny’s shadow
(2011), sniff
(2008),
the dog in wartime
(2007), de skippers of the
kameleon (2003)
Sales: MountainRoad
Entertainment Group
Ph +31 35 623 55 59
Mob +31 6 537 218 27
84
2005
Schnitzel paradise
Schnitzel paradise is a
comedy between two cultures.
Will Nordip and Agnes give in
to the pressure of their surroundings or will they stick
together?
A hilarious comedy about Nordip Doenia, who has recently
graduated. His proud father
wishes him to go and study
medicine, but that’s not what
Nordip wants. Like so many
people at his age he hasn’t got a
clue of what to do with his life.
He secretly takes a job washing
up in hotel ‘The Blue Vulture’.
Here he runs into Agnes, the
owner’s niece and they start a
secret relationship.
35mm / colour / 82’ / 2005
Original title: het
schnitzelparadijs
Genre: comedy
Screenplay: Marco van Geffen
Cast: Noah Valentyn, Bracha
van Doesburgh, Mimoun
Oaïssa, Yahya Gaier, Tygo
Gernandt
winter in wartime (2008), happy
family (2006), bonkers (2005),
the south (2004), the cave
(2001), amnesia (2001),
suzy q
(1999)
Awards: a.o. Best Screenplay,
Skip City, Japan (2006), Comedy
Film Honor & Film Discovery
Jury Award, U.S. Comedy Arts
Festival (2007) Official selection
Berlinale Generation 14+ (2006)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
a.o.
best
screenplay,
japan (2006)
85
2005
Zoo rangers in Afrika
Eight teenage kids who work in a zoo
in Holland, go on safari in Africa.
When their airplane crashes in the
jungle, they must find ways to to work
together and survive. But the rangers
prove adept at surviving the rigours of
the jungle, recognising the incontestable truth that life in the wild bears
little resemblance to life in the zoo.
On the way they uncover an underground network of illegal animal
trading.
35mm / colour / 85’ / 2005
Original title: zoop in afrika
Director: Dennis Bots, Johan
Nijenhuis
Koek, Johan Nijenhuis
Cast: Juliette van Ardenne,
Vivienne van den Assem,
Nicolette van Dam, Ewout
Genemans, Jon Karthaus,
Sander Jan Klerk, Patrick
Martens, Monique van der
Werff
bennie stout (2011), fuchsia the
mini witch (2010), alibi (2007),
zoo rangers in south america
(2007), zoo rangers in india
(2006), full moon party (2001),
costa! (2001).
Festivals: a.o. Zlin (2007),
Kolkata (2008)
NL Film & TV
Ph +31 20 574 7626
info@nlfilm.tv
www.nlfilm.tv
Ph +44 20 7424 6870
86
2005
Lepel
Lepel is an adventurous family feature about the 9-year old boy Lepel.
After the mysterious disappearance of
his parents, his mean grandmother
Koppenol takes care of him. She uses
him as a servant. One day, when Lepel
sees the change, he flees and hides
out in the local department store. He
becomes friends with the tough girl
Pleun, who secretly lives behind the
sweaters. Lepel decides to stay and together with Pleun he launches a quest
to find himself a new mother.
35mm / colour / 92’ / 2005
Original title: lepel
Genre: family
Director: Willem van de Sande
Bakhuyzen
Co-production: NL/DE/UK
NL producer: Lemming Film
Cast: Joep Truijen, Neeltje de
Vree, Carice van Houten,
Barry Atsma
Filmography Willem van de
Sande Bakhuyzen:
a thousand kisses (2006), leef!
(2005), cloaca (2003), family
(2001)
Awards: a.o. Children’s Film
Award, Kristiansand (2005),
Audience Choice Award, London
(2005), Best Picture Children’s
Jury, Reel 2 Real (2005), Youth
Jury Prize, Giffoni (2005),
Children’s Jury Award, Warsaw
(2005)
Lemming Film
Ph +31 20 661 0424
www.lemmingfilm.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
a.o.
children’s
film award,
Kristiansand
(2005)
Leontine Petit,
producer.
‘I think children
generally see
things quite simply. And you have
to like making films this way. Children notice details and see things
in a slightly simpler way than
adults. But this doesn’t mean they
can’t understand certain complex
emotions.
I think it’s important the story
somehow radiates a kind of
singularity and quality. It doesn’t
have to be very artistic. Commercial is fine, as long as it’s original.
The story should have something
to say, it should have substance.’
87
2005
Winky’s horse
When 6-year old Winky moves
to a new town, she meets a
couple who own a pony called
Sara.
Winky’s mother doesn’t want
her to get involved with strangers, but Winky ignores her
wishes. Cor and her husband
Siem teach Winky how to ride
Sara. But the pony is old and
soon she dies. And, of course, a
heart-broken Winky is desperate for a pony of her own. But
how can that dream ever come
true? Then Winky learns about
St Nicholas…
35mm / colour / 96’ / 2005
Original title: het paard van
sinterklaas
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Genre: family
Cast: Ebbie Tam, Aaron Wan,
Hanyi Han, Jan Decleir,
Betty Schuurman
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
tony ten (2012), where is
winky’s horse? (2007), because
of the fish (2008, short)
Awards: a.o. Audience Prize,
Montréal (2006), ANEC Gold
Medal, Giffoni (2006), Cifej
Award & Award for Best Young
Actress, Pyrgos (2006), Best
Live Action Film, Poznañ (2006),
Prize of the Adult Jury, Mexico
City’s (2006)
a.o.
audience
prize, montréal
(2006)
88
focus
Dutch tradition
across the border
a Dutch phenomenon is
received very well
The author’s film winky’s horse
broaches an important issue, integration, and links it to the Dutch tradition
of St. Nicholas, comparable with Santa
‘Everybody wanted to
see it because they heard
about it through the
grapevine’
Claus and Christmas.
The screenplay is written by Tamara
Bos, who previously wrote the script
for minoes, and tells the story of
seven-year-old Chinese Winky, who
moves to Holland with her mother to
live in the country where her father is
already running a Chinese restaurant.
winky’s horse brings together many
different elements: integration, Dutch
tradition, discovery, adventure and
the love of and care for an animal. In
sum, a film the entire family can watch
at an individual level.
The potential of this box-office hit is
not immediately recognised. For one
thing, because it tells an unspectacular and original story. But also because
its release time is very limited.
Although St. Nicholas is a well-known
tradition in the Netherlands, expectations are families will not flock to
the theatres to watch a film about
St. Nicholas weeks before the event.
Still, producer BosBros and distributor Warner Bros. eventually decide to
screen the film in theatres for at least
six weeks. So, on 8 October 2005, two
months prior to the St. Nicholas feast,
the film has its theatrical release.
Director Mischa Kamp: ‘We envisaged a small film with a small release,
because it told an original story. A film
about an immigrant girl who doesn’t
understand a Dutch tradition. It
turned into a large-scale release; everybody wanted to see it because they
heard about it through the grapevine:
everybody loved Winky.’ Warner Bros.
eventually releases the film in ninety
copies and it is visited by six times as
many people as originally anticipated,
360.000 to be precise.
89
Xiao Juan Zhou of sales agent
Delphis Films acknowledges that
the film looked a tough proposition at first sight.
The story relies
heavily on a
Dutch tradition
In 2006, winky’s horse has its world
premiere at the Berlinale. During the
production of the film, people had
serious doubts about the international
interest in the film, because the story
relies heavily on a Dutch tradition.
However, when the film is screened to
non-Dutch children, it is soon clear
they can easily identify with Winky’s
ups and downs seeing a new country
with all its strange and silly habits.
Mischa Kamp: ‘It came as quite a surprise that a Dutch phenomenon like
St. Nicholas, which nobody abroad is
familiar with, is received so well. But
this was because Winky doesn’t know
St. Nicholas herself. And the foreign
children went along with her, they got
acquainted with St. Nicholas through
‘A film about a Chinese girl in Holland with St. Nicholas. How are
we going to sell that?’ Nevertheless, winky’s horse was released
theatrically in France, Spain and
Scandinavia. ‘And it was sold
even in Malaysia and Iran, both
Muslim countries. I was very surprised they chose the film. It’s St.
Nicholas! And certain distributors
are increasingly willing to take on
costs in order to release the best
independent children’s films in
their territories.’
her, they could identify with Winky.’
The film receives a warm welcome
and will later screen at more than 80
international festivals and be released
in over 100 countries.
The sequel where is winky’s horse?
(2007) is also a big hit abroad. The film
screens at theatres in Sweden, France,
Norway, Luxemburg and Denmark.
And the DVD/TV rights of the film
have also been sold to over fifty countries, from South-America to Africa.
90
2004
Bluebird
A film about Merel, a 13-year old girl,
who is harassed from one day to the
next.
By kids in her class, on the train,
in the swimming pool, where she
swims together with her younger
handicapped brother Kasper. The
harassment begins again, everyday,
for no apparent reason. It hardens her
resolve but it gives her life an initial
push in the wrong direction. We follow the emotions of a young girl who
becomes lost somewhere between
adolescence and adulthood, as the
pain intensifies, mercilessly.
35mm / colour / 76’ / 2004
Original title: bluebird
Genre: psychological drama
Director: Mijke de Jong
Screenplay: Helena van der
Meulen
Cast: Elske Rotteveel, Kees
Scholten and Elsie de
Brauw
Festivals & Awards:
a.o. Crystal Bear, Berlin
Kinderfilmfest (2005), Grand
Prix, Montréal (2005), Young
People’s Jury Award, Toronto
(2005)
Eyeworks Film & TV
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
Filmography Mijke de Jong:
joy (2010), katia’s sister (2008),
stages (2007), expelled (2001)
a.o.
crystal bear,
berlin (2005)
91
2004
Eric in the land
of insects
35mm / colour / 97’ / 2004
Original title: erik of het klein
Festivals: a.o Cairo (2005),
Mannheim/Heidelberg (2005),
Istanbul (2006)
insectenboek
Genre: family
Director: Gidi van Liempd
Screenplay: Cecilie Levy, Gidi
van Liempd
Co-production: NL/DE/BE
NL producer: Eyeworks Film & TV
Cast: Jasper Oldenhof,
Lenette van Dongen,
Yale Sackman, Jaak Van
Assche
Eyeworks Film & TV
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
Eric is a dreamer who prefers to
fantasise about his secret love Rosalie
instead of preparing his ‘show and
tell’ presentation for the class at
school. When he unexpectedly has an
opportunity to live among the insects
in an old painting for one night, he
discovers a magic world filled with adventure. During his new world quest,
Eric learns a lot about life, friendship
and loyalty. He returns to the ‘real
world’ as a hero, for himself and for
Rosalie.
In orange
35mm / colour / 93’ / 2004
Original title: in oranje
Screenplay: Frank Ketelaar
Co-production: NL/UK
NL producer: Topkapi films,
Fu Works
Cast: Yannick van de Velde,
Thomas Acda, Wendy
Van Dijk
(2011), the magicians (2010)
Coach (2009), love is all (2007),
my french aunt gazeuse (1996).
Awards: a.o Best Children’s Film,
Tallinn (2004), Audience Award
Kristiansand (2005), Audience
Award, Jakarta (2005)
Topkapi Films
Ph +31 20 303 2494
info@topkapifilms.nl
www.topkapifilms.nl
Eleven-year old Remco is a very talented and fanatical soccer player with
only one dream, to play for the Dutch
under-12 national team.
Erik, his father and coach, is equally
as fanatical, a fact which leads to
inevitable conflicts between them.
But Remco’s world falls apart when
his dad dies, and before the boy’s
debut he gets badly injured. Can his
girlfriend Anneke, daughter of the
local chemist, enable him to make his
dream come true?
a.o.
best
children’s film,
talinn (2004)
92
2004
Floris
35mm / colour / 95’ / 2004
Original title: floris
NL Film & TV
Ph +31 20 574 7626
info@nlfilm.tv
www.nlfilm.tv
Director: Jean van de Velde
Screenplay: Gerard Soeteman
Producer: NL Film & TV
Cast: Michiel Huisman, Victor
Löw, Daan Schuurmans,
Linda van Dyk
Set in medieval times, Floris Senior
wants his son to become a knight to
aid him on an important quest. But
Floris Junior has different ideas. He
wants to perform and as a juggler
he entertains the crowds in market
squares. When the stunning Chinese
girl Pi comes into town, she steals the
show, putting Junior’s nose severely
out of joint. They realise that they can
co-exist if they find the relic which
was the object of Senior’s original
quest. An adventure on fire, water, air
and land begins.
Filmography Jean van de Velde:
all stars (2011 & 1997),
amsterdam blue (2000), the
silent army (2008)
Suske & Wiske;
The dark diamond
35mm / colour / 86’ / 2004
Original title: suske en wiske; de
duistere diamant
Director: Rudi van den Bossche
Screenplay: Patricia Beyens, Ilse
Somers, Rudi Van Den Bossche
NL producer: Scarabee Films,
Moved Media
Cast: Joeri Busschots, Céline
Verbeeck, Peter Van den
Begin, Stany Crets, Dirk
Roofthooft
Filmography Rudi van den
Bossche: olivetti 82 (2001)
Sales: MDC International
Ph +49 30 2649 7900
info@mdc-int.de
www.mdc-int.de
Family adventure based on the
bestselling classic comic strip in the
Spike and Suzy series created by Willy
Vandersteen. This time, our heroes
spend their summer holidays on a
mysterious estate in the Netherlands,
where Auntie Sidonia succumbs to
the influence of a dark diamond with
unsuspected powers. To save her,
Spike and Suzy set out on an exciting
search in 15th Century Holland for
an old alchemist, who is the only one
who can lift the ancient curse.
93
2004
Pluk and his
tow truck
One day a small tow truck
drives into town with an 8-year
old boy at the wheel.
His name is Pluk and he is
looking for somewhere to live.
No one can help him find a
room so Pluk seeks solace in
the Turtle Garden, a messy
park. He moves in the tower
above the Petteflet and he
gets to know several inhabitants and finds out about their
problems. When the Turtle
Garden is threatened with
demolition Pluk must find a
solution to rescue the park and
the animals.
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2004
Original title: pluk van de
Festivals: a.o. Antwerpen/Gent
(2005), Cairo (2005), Tehran
(2005), Montreal (2006)
petteflet
Genre: family
Director: Ben Sombogaart &
Pieter van Rijn
Cast: Janieck van de Polder,
Suzanne Zuiderwijk,
Hanneke Riemer, Arjan
Ederveen, Paul Hoes
jeans (2009), the flying liftboy
(1998), the penknife (1992), my
father lives in rio (1989)
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
94
2003
2003
Polleke
Polleke, a girl of 11 years old,
is in love with Mimoen,
a Moroccan boy who lives in
the flat opposite her.
35mm / colour / 95’ / 2003
But his parents force him to
stop seeing her because they
don’t share the same cultural
background. While Polleke
spends her time at the farm of
her grandparents, her mother
falls in love with her schoolteacher. In the meantime
Polleke’s father, Spiek, once a
free spirit and optimist, gradually becomes more and more
dependent on the care of his
daughter.
Original title: polleke
Screenplay: Rob Arends,
Maarten Lebens
Producer: Egmond Film and
Television
Cast: Liv Stig, Mamoun
Elyounoussi, Halina Reijn,
Daan Schuurmans, Frank
Lammers
Awards: a.o. Jury Prize, Ghent
(2004), Golden Poznan &
Children’s Jury Award, Ale Kino
(2004), Children’s Jury Award,
BUFF (2004), Adult’s Jury
Award & Children’s Jury Award,
Chicago (2004)
Eyeworks Film & TV Drama
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
(2011), the indian (2009), when
night falls (2004),daisy (1998)
a.o.
jury prize,
ghent
(2004)
95
Ineke Houtman,
director.
‘To me as a filmmaker,
the main thing is not
a film’s commercial success, but the
story I can tell. I made most of my
children’s films because I loved the
stories and the ways in which I could
show them. I think my film Polleke,
for example, is a splendid story. It
has a multicultural theme and I prefer
films that have some kind of anchor
in society. They have substance. I like
pure entertainment too, but if I made
a comedy, for example, I’d want it to
tackle serious issues too. So that the
film would work both in a comical and
a serious way and it can ‘move’ in
between extremes.’
‘I don’t think the children’s film is a
separate genre. There’s hardly any
distinction between films for adults
and children. Actually, there are only
two types of films: good ones and bad
ones. The sole difference in films for
adults and children is how black you
make the story. Totally black stories
are simply not suitable for children,
because they don’t offer any perspective or hope. Makers of children’s films
have a responsibility in this respect.
Things may be heavy, but they should
be counterbalanced by lighter elements and possibly with lots of fun.’
96
2003
The skippers
of the Kameleon
The heroes of the story are two identical twin boys, about 12 years old.
35mm / colour / 100’ / 2003
Original title: de schippers van
de kameleon
The peaceful life of their village is
suddenly interrupted when a devastating hurricane rips through town.
The twins and their parents run safely
inside but the twins see the village
doctor’s car fly through the air. The
twins and their father save the doctor’s life. Later on a mysterious series
of robberies plague the town, it’s the
twins who solve the crime and take
after the criminals in a high speed
boat chase.
Genre: family
Screenplay: Steven de Jong,
Jean Ummels
Producer: Kameleon Produkties,
Two Young Rights
Cast: Koen van der Donk, Jos
van der Donk, Maarten
Spanjer
penny’s shadow (2011), sniff
the dog in wartime (2008),
(2007), kameleon 2 (2005)
Sales: MountainRoad
Entertainment Group
Ph +31 (0) 35 623 55 59
Mob +31 (0)6 537 218 27
97
2003
Young Kees
35mm / colour / 96’ / 2003
Original title: kees de jongen
Genre: historic family film
Director: André van Duren
Screenplay: Bob In’t Hout,
Maarten Lebens
Co-production: NL/UK
NL producer: Sigma Pictures
Cast: Ruud Feltkamp, Hannah
Cheney, Hans Kesting,
Monic Hendrickx, Theo
Maassen
Filmography Andre van Duren:
the gang of oss (2011), mariken
(2000), een dubbeltje te weinig
(1991)
Festivals: a.o. Giffoni (2004),
Montreal (2004), Antwerpen
(2004)
Sigma Pictures
Ph. +31 20 535 3320
info@sigmapictures.com
www.sigmapictures.com
Young Kees is driven by obsessive
thoughts but manages to escape his
everyday problems by immersing
himself within the realms of his own
imagination. Things that he could
never achieve in real life, he can
achieve in his own fantasy world. He
finally grows up when he exchanges
his imagination for actions and
deeds. The illness and death of his
father, the deteriorating economic
climate in Holland and a desperately
intense adolescent romance all serve
to hasten his development.
Peter Bell 2 - The hunt
for the tsar crown
35mm / colour / 105’ / 2003
Original title: pietje bell 2, de
jacht op de tsarenkroon
Genre: family
Filmcompany
Cast: Quinten Schram, Frensch
de Groot, Katja Herbers,
Rick Engelkes
Filmography Maria Peters:
xtc just don’t do it (2006), peter
bell (2002), little crumb (1999),
the pursesnatcher (1995)
Festivals: a.o. Jakarta (2006),
Chicago (2004), Moscow (2004)
Sales: Shooting Star
filmcompany BV,
Ph 31 20 624 7272
www.shootingstar.nl
Thanks to Peter Bell and his infamous ‘Black Hand Gang’, the villainous newspaper tycoon Stark, is now
safely locked behind bars. Even better,
Peter’s sister has, at last, turned her
back on Josef, the nerdy greengrocer’s
son, and is now engaged to Stark’s
rival, Paul Velinga. Everything seems
to be perfect. But even from the apparent security of prison, Stark still
rules. Will Peter Bell and his ‘Gang of
the Black Hand’ be able to stop him
in time?
98
2003
Pipo & the p-p-Pearl
knight
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2003
Original title: pipo en de
p-p-parelridder
Genre: family
Director: Martin Lagestee
Screenplay: Peter Römer
Producer: Endemol Nederland
Film BV
Cast: Joep Dorren, John
Wijdenbosch, Mariska
Van Kolck, Rudi
Falkenhagenen, Harry
van Rijthoven, Daan
Schuurmans
Filmography Martin Lagestee:
red swan (1999), angie (1993),
claim (2002)
Endemol Nederland Film BV
Ph +31 (0)20 - 893 1125
Cindy.de.vries@endemol.nl
www.endemol.nl
In this cheerful movie adventure
legendary Pipo the Clown helps Aunt
Anouska to chase away the castle
ghost by waking up a knight who
has been asleep for five hundred
years. And in the process the knight
rediscovers his true love, who has
also been asleep for five centuries! In
the meantime Pipo must try to keep
the lovebirds away from the greedy
Dikke Deur and the bandits Snuf and
Snuitje.
Science fiction
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2002
Original title: science fiction
Genre: family
Director: Dany Deprez
Screenplay: Jean-Claude Van
NL producer: Fu Works
Cast: David Geclowicz, Fran
Michiels, Jurre Baguet,
Wendy Van Dijk, Koen
De Bouw
Filmography Danny Deprez:
the ball (1999)
Awards: a.o. Youth Jury Price,
Zlin (2003), Jury Prize, Reel
2 Real (2004), Public Award,
Sprockets (2003), Jury Price,
Flanders FF (2002)
Sales: TrustNordisk
Ph +45 3686 8788
www.trustnordisk.com
info@trustnordisk.com
a.o.
youth jury
prize, zlin
(2003)
Ten year old Andreas is the new kid
in town and the son of top scientific
researchers. Tomboy Vero lives next
door. She finds his parents really
weird and she suggests that they spy
on them to find out what they really
do. It appears that his parents are on
the verge of becoming masters of the
universe. They talk about going away
with Andreas beyond the stars. It suddenly seems obvious that Andreas’
parents are aliens. But if his parents
are aliens, wouldn’t Andreas have
noticed by now?
99
2003
Sea of silence
1969. Man is about to set foot
on the moon but Caro (9) who
lives on a pig farm refuses to
countenance such nonsense.
Her religious father is even
more worried. He must cope
with modern-day technology
and running a large household
has driven him to drink. But if
he promises not to drink until
Caro’s communion day then
in return she’ll learn to swim,
but her father succumbs and
the day ends in disaster. Consequently, Caro starts doing extraordinary things beyond her
control while her father falls
into a state of apathy.
35mm / colour / 120’ / 2003
Original title: verder dan de
Festivals: a.o. Palm Springs
(2004). Münster (2003), Gent
(2003)
maan
Genre: drama
Director: Stijn Coninx
Screenplay: Jacqueline
Epskamp
Co-production: NL/BE/DK/DE
NL producer: Isabella Films
Cast: Huub Stapel, Johanna ter
Steege, Neeltje de Vree
Filmography Stijn Coninx:
daens (1992), where is the light
(1998), koko flanel (1990)
Isabella Films
Ph. +31 20 794 9105
F. +31 20 428 3096
els@isabellafilms.com
www.isabellafilms.com
100
2002
Zulaika
Set in Curacao, one of the Dutch
Antilles, Zulaika is a coming of age
film about a little girl who draws on
her imagination to cope with the
difficulties of life.
The dream world is where Zulaika
finds the strength to survive. It is a
film that shows without sentiment,
avoiding the trappings of political
correctness, a child coming to terms
with an adult world. The mood of
the film is essentially magical-realist,
especially when we enter the dream
world.
35mm / colour / 80’ / 2003
Original title: zulaika – kobra
Awards: a.o. Adult’s Jury Award,
Chicago (2004), Children Jury
Award, Nueva Mirada (2005)
ta duru
Director: Diederik van Rooijen
Screenplay: Milushka Birge
Producer: Stichting Aves
Cast: Shurmaily Martina, Mila
Palm, Ephraïn Borgschot,
Aleksander Durguti
Contact: Willy Westerman
w.westermann@wxs.nl
Ph +31 6-22483629
Filmography Diederik van
Rooijen: tape (2012), stella’s
war (2009), bollywood hero
(2009), genji (2006), dummy
(2006)
a.o.
adults
jury award,
chicago (2004)
101
2002
Tom & Thomas
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2002
Original title: tom & thomas
Genre: family
Director: Esmé Lammers
Screenplay: Esmé Lammers
NL producer: First Floor
Features
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Sean
Bean, Inday Ba
Festivals: a.o. Toronto Sprockets
(2002), St. Petersburg (2002),
Antwerpen/Gent (2002)
contact:
Cupola Stories & Pictures
Ph +31 20 6204992
esme@euronet.nl
www.cupola.nl
Filmography Esmé Lammers:
long live the queen (1996),
amazones (2004)
Two 9-year old boys, Tom and
Thomas, are unaware of each other’s
existence, yet they have always sensed
that the other is somehow there.
One day Thomas comes face to face
with Tom and he has finally found
his long lost twin-brother and they
promise never to part again. When
Tom plans to run away from the boy’s
home, he is witness to a child smuggling operation. The smugglers come
after him but he escapes. Secretly
he hides at Thomas’ place and they
change places in various situations
creating amazement and confusion.
Loonies
35mm / colour / 87’ / 2002
Original title: loenatik de moevie
Director: Bobby Eerhart
Screenplay: Karin van
Holst Pellekaan, Martin van
Waardenberg
Producer: Get Reel Productions
Cast: Karin van Holst Pellekaan,
Martin van Waardenberg,
Dick van den Toorn, Judith
Bovenberg, John Buijsman,
Jacqueline Blom
Awards: a.o. Audience Award,
Netherlands Film festival (2002)
Contact: Get Reel
P.O. Box 71796
1008 DG Amsterdam
info@media-finance-advisors.
com
a.o.
audience award,
netherlands
(2002)
A touching comedy about five psychiatric patients who are forced to
exchange their homely surroundings for an austere and impersonal
institution. In part because of the
strict regime imposed by a daunting
nurse, the five decide to hatch a plan
to escape to their former abode.
After a drastic confrontation with the
outside world the group is forced to
break up. Eventually each of the five
patients realises his dream individually as the strength of their bond
draws them collectively to their home
of choice.
102
2002
Valentin
35mm / colour / 86’ / 2002
Original title: valentin
Genre: family
Director: Alejandro Agresti
Screenplay: Alejandro Agresti
Co-Producer: NL/FR/AR/ES/IT
Features, RWAfilms, De
Productie
Cast: Rodrigo Noya,
Carmen Maura, Julieta
Cardinali
Filmography Alejandro Agresti:
secret wedding (1989), buenos
aires vice versa (1996), el viento
se llevó lo que (1998), the lake
house (2006),
Awards: a.o. Best Film & Special
Jury Award, Mar del Plata (2003),
Golden Calf Best Director,
Nederlands Film Festival (2003),
Audience Award, Newport (2003)
Set in 1960s Argentina, the film looks
at the world through the eyes of a
8-year old boy, Valentin.
Valentin dreams of a happy family
and a reunion with his mother who
has been absent from his life for the
last three years. The boy has since
lived with his grandmother in Buenos
Aires. His father has little time for
him, absorbed as he is by his work
and his complicated love life. With
every new girlfriend he is introduced
to, Valentin’s desire for a happy family
grows stronger.
a.o.
best film,
mar del plata
(2003)
Contact: De Productie
www.deproductie.nl
info@deproductie.nl
Ph +31 6 14 535 162
Moonlight
35mm / colour / 90’ / 2002
Original title: moonlight
Genre: thriller
Director: Paula van der Oest
Screenplay: Carel Donck
Co-production: NL/BE/DE/GB
NL producer: Staccato Films
Cast: Hunter Bussemaker,
Laurien Van den Broeck,
Franck Sasonoff Andrew
Howard
Filmography Paula van der Oest:
black butterflies (2011),
tiramisu (2008), hidden flaws
(2004), zus and zo (2001), the
new mother (1996)
Awards: a.o. Young Actors
Award, Fort Lauderdale (2003),
Best Feature Film, Durango
(2003)
Sales: Arclight Films
Ph. +61 2 8353 2440
info@arclightfilms.com
www.arclightfilms.com
In the shed teenager Claire finds a
wounded boy her own age. He is a
drug-runner, a human package, who
was put on a plane with a bellyful of
heroin. The boy’s intended liquidation failed and he managed to escape.
Claire decides to clean up and nurse
him herself. He recovers slowly, but
Claire is aware that he is in danger
and they flee to her parents’ house in
Luxembourg. Although they cannot
understand each other, the young pair
gradually develop their own language
and express their growing feelings.
103
2002
Peter Bell
Set in early 30’s Peter Bell is a
10-year old boy who lives with his
parents and his elder sister Martha.
His direct neighbors, the slimy Geelman and his extremely dull son Josef,
own a drugstore. There is never a dull
moment in Peter’s life, to the extent
that his remarkable adventures even
appear in the newspaper headlines.
But what is of deepest concern to
Peter is that these stories are out
and out lies, a fact he must put right,
together with his own little army, ‘The
Black Hand Club’.
35mm / colour / 110’ / 2002
Original title: pietje bell
Genre: family
Filmcompany
Cast: Quinten Schram, Frensch
de Groot, Katja Herbers,
Rick Engelkes
xtc just don’t do it (2006),
peter bell 2 (2003),
little crumb (1999), the
pursesnatcher (1995)
Festivals: a.o. Antwerpen/
Gent (2004), Toronto Sprockets
(2004), Chicago (2003)
Filmcompany BV
Tel. 00.31.20.624.7272
www.shootingstar.nl
104
focus
Tax deduction for
private investments
and a new trend in
commercial family films
Until early 2000, it is still a hard pull in
the Netherlands to gather a budget of
as much as 4.5 million Euros. But the
flying liftboy (1998) by producer
Burny Bos does set a trend in the
demand for commercial family films.
The financing of this film, adapted
from a well-known Dutch story by
Annie M.G. Schmidt, a.k.a. the Astrid
Lindgren of the Low Countries, faces
many obstacles. But in the end, producer Burny Bos manages to secure a
budget of 4.3 million Euros.
A big step forward for
the Dutch film industry
Fortunately, the financing of his
second Annie M.G. Schmidt adaptation does go like clockwork. This one
is called minoes and deals with the
lady with that name who used to be
a cat herself. Late 1999, an alternative financing scheme is introduced
in the Netherlands, suddenly giving
large-scale projects like Bos’ a much
bigger chance of success. Not just for
minoes, but for the entire Dutch film
industry, 1999 is an important year,
owing to a new tax measure. The introduction of this CV measure (Limited
Partnership) enables private individuals to invest in films. In exchange,
they get a major tax deduction, plus a
guaranteed interest from the proceeds
of the film.
Minoes turns out
to be a perfect project
Bos commissions his daughter
Tamara to tackle the screenplay for
minoes. She is charged with the task
to contemplate the problems the story
presents: What does a girl look like
that used to be a cat? Is it possible to
film real cats, and how can you make
them talk? Burny Bos has not found a
suitable director yet when he is invited
as a jury member for the Flanders
Youth Film Festival in Antwerp, early
2000. He watches a wonderful beginner’s film there, called man of steel.
He immediately meets up with the
talented young director Vincent Bal,
and subsequently decides to let him
direct minoes.
105
minoes turns out to be a perfect
project for the CV scheme, because the
film eventually receives a budget of 6.3
million Euros, which is used for fiftyeight shooting days, fifty different but
similar-looking cats, seven of which
can talk, one hundred digital shots, a
release in Dutch theatres of again 110
copies and a video/DVD release of a
hundred thousand copies in a single
weekend! At the 2002 Netherlands
Film Festival, Burny Bos is among the
winners: minoes wins the Golden Calf
for Best Feature Film 2002.
Many professionals from the film
sector still mention minoes as their
all-time favourite (children’s) film.
minoes has now been released in cinemas in France, Italy, Canada, NorthAmerica and Germany, while TV and
DVD rights have been sold to over sixty
countries. Even ten years after date,
the film is released in the US under the
title miss minoes.
In the summer of 2000, the young
director Vincent Bal expects
more than twenty ladies for the
auditions for the leading part in
Minoes. When 23-year-old, still
unknown Carice van Houten
walks in and plays her scene, it
is obvious: she is Minoes. But
a few weeks before shooting,
Carice discovers she is allergic
to cats. To cats! At a moment
when at least twenty shooting
days are scheduled in a studio
with only cats. Anti-allergy drops
help her get through the days
and Van Houten, a true actress,
even endures a ‘nose kiss’ with
the cats (including the occasional
nose bite).
This financing measure enables the
Dutch film industry to make a big step
forward and youthful consumers get
a piece of the pie, as they can enjoy
eleven CV films in five years: mariken,
minoes, loonies, tom & thomas, yes
nurse, no nurse, peter bell, skippers of the kameleon (i & ii), young
kees, polleke and eric in the land
of insects.
After five years, another scheme replaces the CV arrangement, a so-called
Matching Fund. This is an automatic
incentives arrangement for cinema
films that attract a wide audience in
the Netherlands, which will ensure
that large popular films are still made.
106
2001
Minoes
Tibbe, a shy junior journalist about
to be fired, meets the extraordinary Miss Minoes, who claims she
used to be a cat.
As she supplies him with scoops
she collects from the cats, he
decides to make her his assistant. But as his success grows he
begins to leave his feline friend
out of the picture. But rumours of
Miss Minoes’ decision to become
a cat again and only when she
disappears does Tibbe realise how
much she means to him.
35mm / colour / 88’ / 2001
Original title: minoes
Genre: family
Director: Vincent Bal
Screenplay: Tamara Bos,
Vincent Bal, Burny Bos
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Carice van Houten, Theo
Maassen, Sarah Bannier,
Pierre Bokma, Hans
Kesting
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
Filmography Vincent Bal:
a.o. zigzag kid (2012), kika &
bob (2008, tv series), man of
steel (1999)
Awards: a.o. CIFEJ Award
Best Film, Montréal (2002),
Silver Elephant, Hyderabad
(2002), Best Live Action
Feature Film, Chicago
(2002), Golden Calf Best
Film Netherlands FF (2002)
a.o.
best film,
montréal
(2002)
107
2001
Adrift
The relationship between 15-year old
Sammy and her 20-year old brother
Jakob is put under pressure when the
sexually budding girl feels especially
attracted to her brother.
With a prematurely demented father
in a nursing home and a mother they
have not seen in years, brother and
sister are thrown back on each other.
Jakob manages the household by
selling condemned meat and watches
over his little sister, leaving her no
room to mature as a woman. Sammy
wants to acquire sexual experience
and explores the limits of her femaleness.
35mm / colour / 89’ / 2001
Original title: drift
Director: Michiel van Jaarsveld
Screenplay: Jacqueline
Epskamp
Producer: Waterland Film
Co-producer: Motel Films
Cast: Christel Oomen, Dragan
Bakema, Hans Hoes, Bert
Luppes
Awards: a.o. Titra Film Award,
Geneva (2001) Best Actress,
Grand Jury Prize, Rouen (2002),
Pauze Youth Jury Award,
Netherlands (2001)
Sales: NPO Sales
Ph +31 35 677 3561
info@nposales.com
www.nposales.com
Filmography Michiel van
Jaarsveld: papa’s tango (2011),
köfte (2010), picture this!
(short, 2004), tonino (short,
2002), marrakech (1996)
a.o.
titra film
award, geneva
(2001)
108
2000
Mariken
Fairytale-like family film loosely
based upon the medieval miracle
play ‘Mariken van Nimwegen’.
The eccentric quack Archibald withdraws in the woods, where one day
he finds a baby: Mariken. He takes
Mariken to live with him and he
teaches her how to eat porridge and
gives her some wise lessons. When a
vagabond steals their goat, Mariken
decides to get a new one in the city,
where she gets involved in a great
adventure.
35mm / colour / 93’ / 2000
Filmography Andre van Duren:
the gang of oss (2011), young
Original title: mariken
Genre: family
Director: André van Duren
Screenplay: Willeke van
Ammelrooy, Kim van Kooten,
Peter van Gestel
NL producer: EYE Works Film
and Television Drama
Cast: Laurien Van den Broeck,
Jan Decleir, Ramsey Nasr,
Kim van Kooten, Willeke
van Ammelrooy, Johanna
ter Steege
kees (2003), a penny too short
(1991)
Awards: a.o. Crystal Bear, Berlin
Kinderfilmfest (2001), Special
Jury Award, Antwerpen (2001),
Jury Award, Sprockets Toronto
(2001), Special Jury Award, Tel
Aviv (2001)
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
a.o.
crystal bear,
berlin (2001)
109
2000
The black meteor
In 1957, the black South-African soccer player Steve Mokone comes to
Almelo to play soccer.
Soon, he becomes friends with 15year old Felix, the son of a factory
worker. Because of his companionship with Mokone, Felix gets trapped
between the narrow-minded milieu
of the provincial town and the star
player’s sophisticated attitude to life.
Mokone teaches Felix to follow his
heart and not reconcile to the petty
future plans his father has for him.
When Mokone leaves the question is
whether Felix can escape the stranglehold of provincial Holland.
35mm / colour / 108’ / 2000
Original title: kees de jongen
Director: Guido Pieters
Screenplay: Kees van Beijnum
Production: Sigma Pictures
Cast: Jet Novuka, Erik van der
Horst, Gijs Scholten van
Aschat, Peter Tuinman,
Thekla Reuten
Filmography Guido Pieters:
the fury of the entire world
(2006), the good hope (1986),
ciske the rat (1984), crew cut
(1979)
Festivals: a.o. Poznan (2002),
Orlando (2001), Sarasota (2001)
Sigma Pictures
Ph +31 20 535 3320
Sales: TrustNordisk
Ph +45 3686 8788
F +45 3686 8750
www.trustnordisk.com
info@trustnordisk.com
110
1999
The red swan
35mm / colour / 100’ / 1999
Filmography Martin Lagestee:
Original title: de rode zwaan
Genre: family
(2003), angie (1993), claim
(2002)
Director: Martin Lagestee
Producer: First Floor Features
Cast: André van den Heuvel,
Annet Nieuwenhuijzen,
Rufus Heikens, Sanne
Himmelreich, Saskia van
der Heide
Sales: Agent CLT-UFA
International
39 VAL SAINTE CROIX
L-1371 LUXEMBOURG
Ph +352 45 21 22
hthym@tfilms.lu
pipo
& the p-p-pearl knight
Jakob jr. willingly listens to the stories
of his grandfather Jakob senior.
When grandfather falls from the
roof he becomes very ill. In feverish
dreams he keeps talking about a red
swan. An elderly lady tells Jakob jr.
that as a child he had a wooden swan
which he lost in the dunes. This red
swan is the only thing that can save
his grandfather’s life. Jakob sets off in
search of the red swan and finds himself in an adventurous fairytale world
where present and past mingle.
The ball
35mm / colour / 90’ / 1999
Original title: de bal
Genre: children
Director: Dany Deprez
Screenplay: Danny Deprez,
Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem,
Co-production: NL/BE/DE
NL producer: Sigma Pictures
Cast: Martje Ceulemans, Ernst
Löw, Michael Pas
Festivals: a.o. Berlin (1999),
Teheran (1999)
Filmography Danny Deprez:
science fiction (2003)
Contact: Sigma Pictures
Ph. +31 20 535 3320
A fairy tale about a magic ball. The
life of the shy 11-year old girl Sophia
changes entirely when she meets a
gypsy who lends her an enchanted
ball. It can bounce, whistle like a bird
and can make things fly. Sophia gets
increasingly popular thanks to the
ball. When her classmate Romeo falls
in love with her, the balls gets jealous
and turns out to have a malevolent
side. She returns the ball to the gypsy
but can she have what she wants without the magic of the ball?
111
1999
Missing link
Rick (11) is obsessed with the quest
for the missing link between apes and
man.
He is growing up with his mother
and aunt in Holland in the fifties. He
never knew his father and his mother
has always maintained he was a RAF
pilot who died in the war. One day after a fight with his mom he runs away
from home to find the professor who
is leading an expedition to Africa.
Along the way, he discovers the
true identity of his missing father.
35mm / colour / 90’ / 1999
Original title: missing link
Genre: children’s
Director: Ger Poppelaars
Screenplay: Timo Veltkamp
NL producer: Theorema
Films
Cast: Nick van Buiten, Thomas
Acda, Tamar van den Dop,
Johan Leysen
Filmography Ger Poppelaars
the three best things in live
(1992), paramaribo papers
(2002)
Festivals: a.o. Kinderfilmfest
Berlin (1999), Puchon (2000),
Rimouski (2000), Rio de Janeiro
(2000)
Contact: Dutch Mountain Movies
Ph +31 20 688 1843
info@dutchmountainmovies.com
www.dutchmountainmovies.com
112
1999
Little crumb
It is 1921, Kruimeltje (Little
Crumb), a 10-year old street
urchin, is a survivor.
Raised by bad-tempered Mrs
Koster, he doesn’t know his
real parents. When Mrs Koster
dies Kruimeltje is left alone.
The only possession he has
left is a medallion containing
the portraits of his parents
that Mrs Koster gave him.
Kruimeltje ends up on the
street. Fortunately, kind grocer
Wilkes takes pity on the boy.
He invites Kruimeltje to come
and live with him. A happy
end seems assured, but trying
times are still ahead.
35mm / colour / 119’ / 1999
Original title: kruimeltje
Genre: family
NL producer: Shooting Star
Filmcompany
Cast: Ruud Feltkamp, Hugo
Haenen, Rick Engelkes,
Thekla Reuten
peter bell 2 (2003), peter bell
(2002), the pursesnatcher
(1995)
Awards: a.o. Special Jury
Award, Houston (2000), Ludi
Award, Kistiansand (2000),
Children’s Jury Award, Chicago
(2001)
Filmcompany
Ph +31 20 624 7272
www.shootingstar.nl
a.o.
special jury
award, houston
(2000)
113
Maria
Peters,
director.
‘A maker
shouldn’t be pressurised
by box-office and distribution figures, but you
should know who your
audience is. You should
wonder: “Who wants to
see this film?”, ‘Who do
I want to reach?’, ‘Which
target group is my film
for?’ You have to think
about these things as a
filmmaker. Children are a
great target group. They
are an appreciative audience, because they get
swept away by a film. A
maker does need antennae, though, to know what
children are interested in.
You shouldn’t underestimate children; the film
shouldn’t be annoyingly
bad, children sense that.
And a children’s film
should also appeal to
adults. Because children
never go to the theatre
alone; one of the parents
always accompanies
them.’
114
1998
The flying liftboy
A comic adventure film brimming with special effects about
11-year old Abeltje who gets
a job in a boring town as the
cool little lift-boy at the Knots
department store.
Things go wrong on the very
first day. Abeltje presses the
wrong button and flies through
the roof into the wide world
with three lift passengers: his
ex-girlfriend and classmate
Laura, the singing teacher Miss
Klaterhoen and the mothball
businessman Mr Tump. The
lift finally lands in New York
City and Abeltje joins his
passengers in a maelstrom of
adventures.
35mm / colour / 110’ / 1998
Original title: Abeltje
Genre: family
Screenplay: Burny Bos
Co-production: NL/BE/DE/LU
Cast: Ricky van Gastel,
Soraya Smith, Annet
Malherbe, Frits
Lambrechts, Marisa
van Eyle
Filmography
Ben Sombogaart:
to be king (2012), crusade
in jeans (2009), pluk and his
tow truck (2004), the flying
liftboy (1998), my father
lives in rio (1989)
Awards: a.o. Public Choice
Award, Montreal (1999),
Public Award, Montevideo
(1999), Cairo (2000)
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph +1 514 843 3355
a.o.
public choice
award, montréal
(1999)
115
1998
The dandelion game
35mm / colour / 80’ / 1998
Original title: blazen tot honderd
Genre: family
Contact: Molenwiek Film
Ph +31 20 625 2296
info@molenwiek.nl
www.molenwiek.nl
Director: Peter van Wijk
Screenplay: Peter van Wijk
NL producer: Molenwiek Film
Cast: Olivier Tuinier, Marie Vinck,
Hilde Van Mieghem
Festivals: a.o. Berlinale (1998),
Giffoni (1998), Cannes Junior
(1998) San Francisco (1998)
In the course of four seasons we follow
the process as 12-year old Maurits
mourns the death of his mother. His
intensely sad father is not able to
offer him any solace. Maurits denies
his mother’s death and withdraws to
the flood plains of the river. There he
meets Moniek. During their journey
of discovery through the plains, their
tender friendship turns into love. But
Maurits’ anger and sorrow sometimes
turn to extreme emotions. A dramatic
event eventually brings him closer to
his father.
Daisy; Scratches in
the table
35mm / colour / 85’ / 1998
Original title: Madelief, Krassen
in het tafelblad
Genre: children’s
Screenplay: Rob Arends,
Maarten Lebens
Drama
Cast: Madelief Verelst, Rijk de
Gooyer, Margo Dames,
Thomas Acda
(2011), the indian (2009), silent
night (2004), polleke (2003)
Awards: a.o. Children’s
Jury Award & Grand Prix,
Ale Kino! (2000), Deutsches
Kinderhilfswerk - Special Mention,
Berlin Kinderfilmfest (1999),
Children’s Jury Award & Adult
Jury Award, Montreal (1999)
Ph +31 20 666 1892
film@eyeworks.tv
www.eyeworks.tv
a.o.
children’s
jury award,
germany (2000)
Daisy is about ten years old. Her
grandma has died and Daisy wants
to know all about grandma, but her
mother doesn’t want to talk about
it and grandpa doesn’t say much
either. All they know is that grandma
cleaned a lot, had her good side, but
was not very nice. When Daisy goes
to stay with Grandpa for the first
time she finds a mysterious shed in
the neglected garden that belonged
to grandma. Daisy sets off to unravel
grandma’s secret.
116
1996 / 1997
My French
aunt Fizzy
35mm / colour / 90’ / 1997
Original title: mijn franse tante
gazeuse
Genre: children’s
Director: Joram Lürsen & Ben
Sombogaart
Screenplay: Burny Bos, Tamara Bos
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Afroditi Piteni Bijker,
Caroline van Gastel,
Boris Stoïkoff, Willeke van
Ammelrooy, Loes Luca
to be king (2012), pluk and his tow
(1998), the penknife (1992),
my father lives in rio (1989)
(2011), the magicians (2010),
coach (2009), love is all (2007),
in orange (2004)
Festivals: a.o. Antwerpen (1998),
Barcelona (1997)
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
Eight year old Katootje Tekelenburg
lives with her parents in a suburb in
a small place called Droogbaak. Her
family is involved in a constant battle
between them and neighbour van
Zanten, who, just like them, wants to
win the award for ‘The most decent
family of the Netherlands’, The Emmy
Gee Trofee. This award will be given
away by the Queen of the Netherlands.
Everything goes smoothly for family Tekelenburg, untill Aunt Gazeuse
from France decides to come and visit
them...
The boy who
stopped talking
35mm / colour / 108’/ 1996
Original title: de jongen die niet
meer praatte
Genre: family
Sc: Lou Brouwers
Cast: Erçan Orhan, Halsho
Hussain, Brader Musiki,
Husna Killi, Louis Ates
to be king (2012), pluk and his tow
(1998), the penknife (1992),
my father lives in rio (1989)
Awards: a.o. UNICEF Award,
Berlinale (1996), Best Film,
Cannes Junior (1997), Golden
Spire, San Francisco (1997),
Zilveren Poznan, Poland (1997)
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
Memo is a nine-year old Kurdish boy
who lives in eastern Turkey with his
mother and little sister. When war
threatens the region where Memo
is living, his father decides to permanently relocate the family to the
Netherlands, where he works. Memo
doesn’t want to leave his beloved village, so arriving in the Netherlands
Memo begins his own unique protest
against the forced move: he stops
talking…
a.o.
unicef award,
berlinale
(1996)
117
1995
Long live the queen
Sarah’s father is a mystery;
her mother doesn’t want to tell
her anything about him, only
that he lives in South Africa.
Then Sarah finds out that he is
an international chess champion. And when it is announced
on television that he is coming
to play a simultaneous tournament, Sarah is determined to
take part. A schoolfriend of
Sarah teaches her how to play
with his special set where the
pieces come to life. The white
queen helpes Sarah to learn the
rules and after a while she can
play so well that she can take
part in the simultaneous game
against her father.
35mm / colour / 115’ / 1995
Original title: lang leve de
koningin
Genre: family
Director: Esmé Lammers
Screenplay: Esmé Lammers
Features
Cast: Tiba Tossijn, Monique van
der Ven, Derek de Lint
Awards: a.o. CIFEJ prize,
Oulo (1996), Golden Calf Best
Film, Netherlands (1996), Best
of Fest, Minneapolis (1997),
Montgomery Prize, Chicago
(1996)
contact:
Cupola Stories & Pictures
+31 20 6204992
esme@euronet.nl
www.cupola.nl
Filmography Esmé Lammers:
tom & thomas (2002), amazones
(2004)
a.o.
golden calf,
netherlands
(1996)
118
focus
Film market by
the lake
cinekid festival has grown into
the largest media festival for children in the world
In 1986, graphic designer of the
Amsterdam-based Meervaart theatre
Floris Guntenaar returns from the
Cannes film festival with the idea
to organise an international market
for children’s films in Amsterdam.
A festival market that screens (inter)
national children’s films and can serve
as a meeting point for producers from
home and abroad. This way, they can
keep each other abreast of new projects and determine whether collaboration is feasible.
Guntenaar witnesses the fine business
at the film market by the Mediterranean and thinks of a place in Amsterdam where the same event could take
place: the Sloterplas lake.
The first edition of the festival kicks
off in 1987 with the Swedish awardwinning film my life as a dog (1985),
directed by Lasse Hallström. Twentyfive years later, the festival has grown
into the largest media festival for children in the world. The festival screens
not only international and national
films and TV programmes, but also
boasts a media lab with new media, an
international co-production market
for professionals and an educational
department, and screens films in
various cities across the Netherlands.
Every fall break, Cinekid offers over
forty thousand children the opportunity to enjoy some two hundred media
productions, like films, TV series,
interactive websites and games.
Cinekid is initially
carped for being
high brow
Moving to downtown Amsterdam in
1997, Cinekid is initially carped for being high brow and catering only to the
cultural elite of Amsterdam. Cinekid
takes the criticism seriously and also
starts schoolscreenings for children
with all sorts of different cultural
backgrounds.
By openly engaging schools, they offer
children, who otherwise have little opportunity to visit the festival, to watch
films there. Thus, Cinekid reaches a
very large and diverse audience.
119
Film
Medialab
TV
14 - 23 oktober Amsterdam en the Movies
Westergasfabriek
reserveren: www.cinekid.nl of bel 020 620 52 30
‘There is a growing
demand for different
genres within the
children’s film’
In 2011, the festival is an event at a
special location, which provides more
room for young and old to play and experiment with different media forms,
like games, websites and other installations, turning a day at Cinekid into
a family outing. In 2011, the festival
celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary,
festively kicking off with Nicole van
Kilsdonk’s film taking changes.
The current film programme is very
wide in scope. Director (since 1997)
Sannette Naeyé perceives a shift in the
variety of children’s films: ‘There is a
growing demand for different genres
within the children’s film. You also see
thrillers, horror films and scary movies for children. Films become ever
more complex and cinematographic,
and ever more layered. Diversity and
entertainment, that’s what children
are entitled to.’
Cinekid screens children’s films in all
genres. The programme varies from
Dutch adaptations like Paul van Loon’s
fuchsia the mini witch (2010) to
Canadian author’s films like c’est pas
moi, je le jure (2008). The variety in
films scheduled side by side at the festival makes Cinekid especially interesting. Exotic films, Scandinavian, French,
Polish, Japanese films; films from all
corners of the world are selected, because films from different cultures use
different angles to broach an issue.
Cinekid has
a global influence
Scriptwriter Mieke de Jong (lepel,
bonkers); ‘Cinekid meant a whole lot
for taking the children’s film seriously,
internationally, and scores of people
visit the festival. Abroad, children’s
festivals are much smaller. To me,
Cinekid is the consciousness of what
happens in the Netherlands. When
I’m abroad, people are always talking
about Cinekid, that they want to go
there. It’s an attractive festival for both
children and parents.’
120
1995
The purse snatcher
Alex is very close to his
Grandma. When Grandma is
robbed, Alex recognises one
of the robbers as a former
classmate.
But Grandma doesn’t want to
go to the police, because she
thinks she will be forced into
a nursing home. She makes
Alex promise he won’t talk to
anyone about the affair.
The robbers look up Alex and
start blackmailing him. If he
doesn’t do what they say they’ll
hurt his grandma. They force
him to steal handbags from
old ladies and, afraid of their
reprisals, he obeys. But when
he steals from a blind lady, his
conscience starts to complain
and he tells his Grandma
everything. Now he no longer
has to bear his secret alone, he
decides to lures his tormentors
into a trap.
35mm / colour / 94’ / 1995
Original title: tasjesdief
Genre: family
Filmcompany
Cast: Olivier Tuinier, Ingeborg
Uyt Den Boogaard, Aus
Greidanus jr, Mischa
Hulshof
Awards: a.o. Crystal Bear,
Kinderfilmfest Berlinale (1995),
Best Vision Award, Tokyo
(1995), Camerio Grand Public,
Rimouski (1995), Children Jury
Award, Hyderabad (1995)
filmcompany BV,
Ph +31 20 624 7272
www.shootingstar.nl
peter bell (2002), peter bell 2
(2003), little crumb (1999)
a.o.
crystal bear,
berlin
(1995)
121
1992
The penknife
Mike and Tim are friends. The two six
year olds have known each other for
ages.
But on their first day at school Tim
brings bad news: he is going to move
in a few weeks time. On the day they
have to say goodbye, they play with the
big red penknife that Tim has been
given. When the teacher walks by, they
quickly hide the knife. That evening
Mike discovers Tim’s penknife is his
trouser pocket. Mike feels like a thief
and wants to return the knife the next
day, but then Tim has already moved.
So Mike starts a lonely search to get in
touch with his old friend.
35mm / colour / 90’ / 1992
Original title: het zakmes
Genre: family
Producer: BosBros
Cast: Olivier Tuinier, Adelheid
Roosen, Genio de Groot
BosBros
Ph +31 20 524 4030
info@bosbros.nl
www.bosbros.com
Ph + 1 514 843 3355
(1998), my father lives in rio
(1989)
Awards: a.o. Best Film, Tel Aviv
(1993), Best Film, Montevideo
(1993), Special Mention,
Sprockets (1993), Best Film,
Schlingel (1993)
a.o.
best film,
tel aviv
(1993)
122
1991 / 1989
Theo and Thea
and the 7 dwarfs
104’ / 35mm / colour / 1989
Original title: theo & thea
en de ontmaskering van het
Filmography Pieter Kramer:
hapily ever after (2010), alice in
glamourland (2004, feature), yes
nurse! no nurse! (2002, feature).
tenenkaasimperium
Director: Pieter Kramer
Screenplay: Arjan Ederveen,
Tosca Niterink
Production: Kees Kasander
Cast: Arjan Ederveen, Tosca
Niterink, Marco Bakker,
Adele Bloemendaal, Leny
Breederveld, Beppie
Melissen
Contact:
Kasander Film
Ph +31 10 43 33 043
www.kasanderfilm.nl
info@kasanderfilm.nl
Theo and Thea are planning to shoot
an amateur film called ‘Theo and
Thea and the Seven Dwarfs. They trick
the popular opera singer Marco Bakker into taking on the part of prince.
However, the power-seeking Brigitta
Berder throws a spanner in the works.
She prepares a magic cheese which
completely robs people of their will
and requires the assistance of someone like Marco Bakker to further her
scheme. Luckily Theo and Thea manage to avert a global catastrophe.
Sebastian star bear
35mm / colour / 78’ / 1991
Original Title: beertje sebastiaan
Genre: animation
Director: Frank Fehmers
Screenplay: Richard Felgate
Producer: Frank Fehmers
Sales: Wim Pel
The Licensing Channel BV
Verrijn Stuartweg 9c
1112 AW Diemen
The Netherlands
Ph +31 20 368 1245
Animation feature about a little bear’s
battle against the abuse of his fellow animals. The devilish theatrical
agent Draco travels the world to catch
bears which he wants to use as revue
dancers in the bear-degrading show.
The little bear Griselda has seen her
mother kidnapped before her very
own eyes by Draco and his henchmen. She tries to wrest her mother
from the show circuit with the aid of a
Super bear from space. As ‘Star Bear’
this Sebastian shines somewhere in
Bear Heaven. When he findes out
what Draco is planning, he descends
to earth by flying saucer to sort things
out.
123
1989
My father lives
in Rio
Little Liesje’s parents met, married
and lived in Rio until mama got
homesick and took her daughter
back to Holland to live with grandfather.
Papa was to follow after having
made more money. Grandad is
super but dies early on when
Liesje is nine. She resents Frits,
who moves into grandad’s room
and begins an affair with mom.
The girl has a correspondence
with dad, then secretly sells some
stamps granddad left her, to pay
for a plane ticket to Rio. As it
turns out, father was not in Rio,
nor hunting crocodiles with a big
gun and bushy beard. He was in
Holland all along, serving a prison
time for smuggling.
35mm / colour / 100’ / 1989
Original title: mijn vader woont
in rio
Awards: a.o. Children’s Jury
Award, Kinder Filmfest Berlin
(1989), Dutch Film Critics Award
(1989)
Genre: family
Scenario: Burny Bos en Ben
Somboogaart
Producenten: Paul Voorthuysen,
PV Pictures
Cast: Wenneke Jansen, Geert
de Jong, Theu Boermans,
Peter Faber, Hans
Veerman, Paul Meijer,
Michiel Romeijn, Gerard
Thoolen.
(1998), the penknife (1992)
Sales: PV Pictures
Sumatralaan 45
1217 GP Hilversum
Ph +31 35 677 4776
www.pvpictures.nl
a.o.
children’s jury
award, berlin
(1989)
124
index
filmtitle
year
page
Adrift
Alfie the werewolf
Ball, the
Bennie Stout
Black meteor, the
Bluebird
Bon Voyage
Bonkers
Bontekoe’s young sailors
Boy Who Stopped
Talking, the
Captain Rob and
the secret of professor Lupardi
Chubby Drums
Cool Kids don’t cry
Crusade in Jeans
Daisy; Scratches in the table
Dandelion Game, the
Desperate
Dunya & Desie
Eep!
Eric in the Land of Insects
Fidgety Bram
Floris
Flying liftboy, the
Frogs and Toads
Fuchsia the mini witch
Furious
Happily Ever After
Horror Bus, the
How to survive myself
In Orange
Indian, the
Kameleon 2
Kauwboy
2001
2012
1999
2012
2000
2004
2011
2005
2007
107
36
110
39
109
90
44
81
68
1996
116
2007
2010
2012
2006
1998
1998
2008
2008
2010
2004
2012
2004
1998
2009
2010
2012
2010
2005
2008
2004
2009
2005
2012
71
54
30
75
115
115
63
61
49
91
35
92
114
59
50
40
51
82
62
91
58
83
28
125
index
Lepel
Letter for the King
Little Crumb
Long live the queen
Loonies
Lover or loser
Magicians, the
Mariken
Minoes
Missing link
Moonlight
Morrison gets a baby sister
My Dad’s a detective
- The Competition
My Dad’s a Detective!
- The Mysterious Island Fort
My Dad’s a Detective!
- Witches Paradise
My father lives in Rio
My French aunt Fizzy
My grandpa the bankrobber
Off side
Penknife, the
Penny’s shadow
Peter Bell
Peter Bell 2:
The Hunt for The Tsar Crown
Pipo & the P-P-Pearl Knight
Pluk and his Tow Truck
Polleke
Purse snatcher, the
Red swan, the
Schnitzel paradise
Science Fiction
Sea of Silence
Sebastian Star Bear: first mission
Secret Letter, the
2005
2008
1999
1995
2002
2009
2010
2000
2001
1999
2002
2008
86
60
112
117
101
56
48
108
106
111
102
66
2012
38
2009
43
2011
1989
1998
2011
2006
1992
2011
2002
57
123
116
45
80
121
42
103
2003
2003
2004
2003
1995
1999
2005
2003
2003
1991
2010
97
98
93
94
120
110
84
98
99
122
55
126
index
Seven of Daran
Skippers of the Kameleon, the
Sniff the dog
Strongest man in Holland
Suske & Wiske;
the Dark diamond
SWCHWRM
Taking chances
Theo & Thea and the 7 dwarfs
Timboektoe
To be king
Tom & Thomas
Tony ten
Valentin
Where is Winky’s horse
Winky’s horse
Winter in wartime
XTC, just don’t do It
Young Kees
ZigZag kid
Zoo Rangers in Africa
Zoo Rangers in India
Zoo Rangers in South America
Zulaika
2007
2003
2008
2011
69
96
67
41
2004
2012
2012
1989
2007
2012
2002
2012
2002
2007
2005
2008
2006
2003
2012
2005
2006
2007
2003
92
32
29
122
70
34
101
31
102
72
87
64
77
97
33
85
76
74
100
127
colofon
‘The Dutch Touch’ is a publication of
EYE Film Institute Netherlands.
Editors: Sabine Veenendaal, Esther
Schmidt
Editor-in-chief: Claudia Landsberger
Catalogue: Stéphanie Yagoubi, Esther
Schmidt
Thanks to
The producers, the interviewed
experts, the photographers
Graphic design and illustration:
Jannemieke Oostra
Print: Drukkerij Slinger, Alkmaar
Edition: 1000
Copyright:
All photographs is the copyright
property of the producers of the
concerning films.
Besides the filmcredits, all texts are
written by Sabine Veenendaal and
Esther Schmidt; all rights reserved.
Publisher
EYE Film Institute Netherlands
Ph +31 20 758 2375
international@eyefilm.nl
www.international.eyefilm.nl
© EYE Film Institute Netherlands
(2012)

The Dutch Touch - EYE International

Transcription

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