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| Cinema of the Netherlands | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 806 (2012)[1] |
| • Per capita | 5.2 per 100,000 (2011)[2] |
| Main distributors | Warner Bros. 27.0% Universal Pictures International 16.6% Benelux Film Distributors (Bfd) 12.3% Sony Pictures 12.1%[3] |
| Produced feature films (2011)[4] | |
| Fictional | 55 (75.3%) |
| Animated | – |
| Documentary | 18 (24.7%) |
| Number of admissions (2012)[1] | |
| Total | 30,600,000 |
| • Per capita | 1.8 (2012)[5] |
| National films | 4,800,000 (15.8%) |
| Gross box office (2012)[1] | |
| Total | €244.6 million |
| National films | €35.9 million (14.7%) |
Cinema of the Netherlands refers to thefilm industry based in theNetherlands. Because the Dutch film industry is relatively small, and there is little or no international market for Dutch films, almost all films rely on state funding. This funding can be achieved through several sources, for instance through theNetherlands Film Fund or the public broadcast networks. In recent years the Dutch Government has established several tax shelters for private investments in Dutch films.[6]
In 2000 the total revenue coming from box office results in the Netherlands was €128.5 million; Dutch films had a share of 5.5%, which is €7.1 million. In 2006 the total revenue was €155.9 million; Dutch films had a share of 11.5%, which is €17.4 million.[7]
TheNetherlands Film Festival and theNetherlands Film Fund are the initiators of four awards recognising box office achievements in the Netherlands. The awards are intended to generate positive publicity for a film when the media attention for the film's release has stopped.[8] TheGolden Film is awarded to films once they have sold 100,000 cinema tickets, thePlatinum Film at 400,000 tickets, and theDiamond Film at 1,000,000 tickets. TheCrystal Film is for documentary films from the Netherlands and is awarded once the film has sold 10,000 cinema tickets.
The most visited film in Dutch cinema history isTitanic, which attracted 3,405,708 visitors. Proportionately the most visited Dutch film isTurkish Delight which had 3,328,804 visitors in 1973, approximately a quarter of the entire population at the time.Titanic, by comparison, drew roughly one fifth of the population of the Netherlands in the late nineties.
The first Dutch film was the slapstick comedyGestoorde hengelaar (1896) byM.H. Laddé.[9][10]Willy Mullens was one of the influential pioneers of Dutch cinema in the early 1900s. His short slapstick comedyThe Misadventure of a French Gentleman Without Pants at the Zandvoort Beach is one of the oldest surviving Dutch fiction films.
Although the Dutch film industry is relatively small, there have been several active periods in which Dutch filmmaking thrived. The first boom came during the First World War when the Netherlands was one of the neutral states. Studios like Hollandia produced an impressive cycle of feature films. A second wave followed in the 1930s, as talking pictures led to a call forDutch-spoken films, which resulted in a boom in production: between 1934 and 1940,37 feature films were released. The filmDead Water (1934), directed by Gerard Rutten, won the Coppa Istituto Luce at theVenice Film Festival (1934), for best cinematography, which was the work ofAndor von Barsy.
To accommodate the rapid growth, the Dutch film industry looked to foreign personnel experienced with sound film technology. Mostly these were Germans, or people who had worked in Germany, who fled the country afterHitler took power. Several renowned German directors who would go on to work in Hollywood directed films in the Netherlands in this period, most notablyDouglas Sirk (Boefje, 1939) andLudwig Berger (Ergens in Nederland, 1940).
During World War II, the private Dutch film industry came to a near halt. However, the German-led occupation government supported many small propaganda films in support of the Third Reich. The best-known of these wereDe nieuwe tijd breekt baan (A New Order Arises, 1941),Met Duitschland tegen het Bolsjewisme (With Germany against Bolshevism, 1941) andWerkt in Duitschland (Work in Germany, 1942). After 1943, this funding came to an end, due to internal struggles within the Dutch Kultuurkamer and the lack of money of the occupational government.
In 1946, the Dutch Historical Film Archive was founded, which would become the Nederlands Filmmuseum, today'sEye Filmmuseum. It has played an important role in the preservation and presentation of cinema in general, and Dutch cinema in particular. Its collection encompasses fiction and documentary film, as well as animation, amateur film, and experimental film. The latter has a rich tradition in the Netherlands, not unlike non-fiction film. Cinema newsreel collections, including thePolygoon journaal, state sponsored films, commissioned films, commercials, and (television) documentaries, besides other television productions, are being preserved at theNetherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.
TheDocumentary film of the Netherlands has been renowned worldwide, propelled first of all by the avant-garde from the 1920s and 1930s, in particular the Filmliga movement,[11] with filmmakers such asPaul Schuitema,Mannus Franken, Andor von Barsy, andJoris Ivens.[12] In the years directly followingWorld War II, most effort was given to the reconstruction of the country, and filmmaking was largely related to that purpose.[13] In that period, the so-called Dutch Documentary School (or Dutch Documentary Tradition) emerged.[14] New filmmakers came to the fore, who received critical acclaim, such as Herman van der Horst,Bert Haanstra, and John Fernhout, among others.
Van der Horst was successful with his short filmSteady! (Houen Zo!), about the reconstruction of Rotterdam, which won aGolden Palm at theCannes Film Festival in 1953, while Van der Horst became also known for his filmFaja Lobbi (1960), about life in Suriname, along deMarowijne river, which won aGolden Bear at the Berlinale. Haanstra, in his turn, established his name withGlass (1958), a short about the production of glass, which also won prizes inBerlin andCannes, as well as anAcademy Award for Documentary Short Subject.John Fernhout directedSky Over Holland, about the country and its connection to visual art, made for the World Exhibition in Montreal in 1967. It was a major attraction, which also won a Golden Palm at theCannes Film Festival and was nominated for anAcademy Award for Documentary Short Subject.
Many other filmmakers came to the fore in the 1960s, eager to explore new pathways and to experiment with film as a medium, supported by broadcasting stations such asVPRO.[15] Among them were the filmmakers and photographers Jan Schaper,Ed van der Elsken and most notablyJohan van der Keuken, who had a major impact on Dutch documentary history.
In the same period, Joris Ivens continued to direct films, across the world, for example in Chile and Vietnam, but also in the Netherlands, where he madeRotterdam-Europoort (1966).[13] By that time, Ivens had become the most famous filmmaker from the Netherlands, and he had won many prizes, among them aCésar Award and aGolden Lion, as well as a career achievement award at theVenice Film Festival. Ivens inspired many other people, including militant filmmakers, such as At van Praag, who established Cineclub Vrijheidsfilms (1966-1986). It produced and distributed films that showed a reality not shown by mainstream media. This critical engagement with cinema became a larger movement, with various other initiatives and politically oriented film collectives, such as the Amsterdams Stadsjournaal (ASJ, 1974-1984), following the example ofNewsreel. Several prominent filmmakers started their career in this context, among them Annette Apon, or followed in their footsteps, such as René Scholten and Digna Sinke. A new documentary circuit emerged, which continued to grow over the years, with influential directors such asHeddy Honigmann andJos de Putter (who also played a pivotal role at VPRO).
Documentary film remains important nowadays within the Dutch film industry and the broader media landscape. TheInternational Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, held annually in November, has been a major force in this regard too, being one of the largest documentary film festivals in the world.
In the late 1950s, the film industry in the Netherlands expanded and professionalized, and more resources became available, also for features films. TheNederlands Filmfonds (Netherlands Film Fund) was established in 1957, and theNederlandse Filmacademie (Netherlands Film Academy) was established in 1958. Bert Haanstra made his first fiction film in 1958,Fanfare, which was a big success. The most famous director of this era is undoubtedlyFons Rademakers, who received critical acclaim in the Netherlands and abroad with a number of films made between 1959 and 1963. Rademakers learned the business fromVittorio De Sica andJean Renoir and brought his newfound knowledge of foreign art films with him.
In the flourishing period, Dutch cinema saw the rise of professionalNetherlands video production techniques, which bolstered the creation of high-quality content for both local and international audiences. This era laid the groundwork for future generations of filmmakers, enabling them to produce films that resonated with diverse viewers.
The first generation of Dutch filmmakers who graduated from the Dutch Film Academy began to make a name for themselves, among them Frans Bromet, Frans Weisz, and Pieter Verhoeff. While documentary production remained important, Dutch fiction films became gradually more popular in the Netherlands.
A lasting success for Dutch film came in the 1970s, mostly under the influence ofPaul Verhoeven. Verhoeven's five films of the decade –Business Is Business (Wat zien ik?, 1971),Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit, 1973),Katie Tippel (Keetje Tippel, 1975),Soldier of Orange (Soldaat van Oranje, 1977) andSpetters (1980) – were box-office hits; they are still in the top-twenty most successful Dutch films ever.Turkish Delight andSoldier of Orange were successful abroad as well and eventually led to Verhoeven's Hollywood career. In 2006 Verhoeven returned to his own language and madeBlack Book (Zwartboek), his firstDutch spoken film sinceThe Fourth Man (1983).
Other successful directors from this era areWim Verstappen andPim de la Parra, whose movies were more commercial than those of their colleagues in the 1960s. In his bookVan Fanfare tot Spetters, film historian Hans Schoots argues that the flourishing period of Dutch film lies between these two films, ending with the controversialSpetters, after which the happy era that was the seventies was over, and a more down-to-earth approach to filmmaking kicked in. Indeed, after 1980, few Dutch films managed to bring crowds of millions to the cinemas, partly due to a decline in interest, partly due to home video systems which resulted in an overall drop in cinema attendance in the Netherlands.
More consistently successful, especially at the box office, are children's novels adaptations. Modern Dutch family movies follow in the tradition ofHenk van der Linden – who made 38 youth films between 1952 and 1984 – and Karst van der Meulen who made twelve of them in the seventies and eighties. 1998'sThe Flying Liftboy and 1999'sLittle Crumb were the highest grossing domestic films of these years.Miss Minoes (2001),Peter Bell: The Movie (2002),De Schippers van de Kameleon (2002),Tow Truck Pluck (2004) andDe Kameleon 2 (2005) achieved the same in their respective years. The Dutch children's films also got some international critical claim. For instance,Winky's Horse won awards at six foreign film festivals. This prompted producers to make an internationally oriented, big budget (approximately €12 million) family film,Crusade in Jeans. While a Dutch production, the film had an international cast and was shot in English.
The family oriented films' reign at the top of the domestic box office came to an end in 2006 with Paul Verhoeven's war thrillerBlack Book, which was the first Dutch film sinceKruimeltje to get over a million admissions.Black Book was the most expensive Dutch film production of all time, with a reported budget of just under €18 million. The success was bested only one year later, with the romantic comedyLove Is All.
A decline in cinema admission set in after the 1970s. DirectorDick Maas, making studio-style action-thrillers such asDe Lift (1983) andAmsterdamned (1988), was about the only filmmaker having mainstream success in this period. He topped the box office charts with hisdysfunctional family comedyFlodder (1986) and its sequelFlodder in Amerika (1992), the latter getting nearly one and a half million admissions, making it the most successful Dutch film since the introduction of the VCR. Some more artistic directors, such asJos Stelling,Orlow Seunke andAlex van Warmerdam made magic realism movies. Other auteur-directors emerged during this era as well, includingTheo van Gogh,Ate de Jong and more recentlyCyrus Frisch. In this decade, acclaimed directorFons Rademakers won anAcademy Award for Best Foreign Film with 1986'sThe Assault.
The cinematic adaptation of the novel,For a Lost Soldier, starringMaartin Smit and Canadian actorAndrew Kelley, was released in 1992 and has sparked controversy for its portrayal of arelationship between an adult male soldier and an 11-year old boy.
In the mid-1990s, the Dutch government introduced tax shelters (the so-called 'CV-regeling') to encourage private investments in Dutch films. After implementation of these new rules there was a boom in production of Dutch movies.It was not the movies made through the tax shelter however, but rather movies aimed at a young audience, such asCosta! (2001), that won back the confidence in the commercial viability of Dutch film.Costa! is about Dutch teenagers vacationing at the Spanish coast. The success of the film spawned several copycat films (for instanceVolle Maan (Full Moon Party; 2002)) and a spin-off sitcom (also calledCosta!), which ran for several seasons on the public broadcasting networkBNN.
After a while the formula wore down and the new commercial flavor became films with a multicultural feel.Hush Hush Baby (Shouf Shouf Habibi, 2004) andSchnitzel Paradise (Het Schnitzelparadijs, 2005) were both comedies featuringDutch/Moroccan actors and became a commercial success. The difference withVolle Maan is that the films were also acclaimed by critics (both in the Netherlands as internationally) and both films were shown at theBerlin Film Festival.
In 2013Alex van Warmerdam's filmBorgman premieredIn-Competition at theCannes Film Festival. With this he became the second Dutch director ever to be nominated for thePalme d'Or.
In 2015,1572: The Battle of Harlem, was released and is currently available for free streaming onAmazon Prime Video. The film tells the true story of a women-led rebellion against the forces ofSpanish KingPhilip II during theEighty Years' War.
The most successful Dutch actors in Hollywood areRutger Hauer (Blade Runner),Jeroen Krabbé (The Fugitive),Famke Janssen (X-Men), andCarice van Houten (Game of Thrones). Filmmakers besidesPaul Verhoeven who successfully began a career in Hollywood includeJan de Bont (who started as cinematographer before directing big budget action movies likeSpeed andTwister), screenwriter-turned-directorMenno Meyjes (credits includeThe Color Purple andIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade) and producerPieter Jan Brugge (Glory,Consenting Adults,The Pelican Brief,Bulworth,The Insider,Miami Vice,Defiance,Love and Other Drugs. Brugge produced and directedThe Clearing. After directing two English-language movies in the Netherlands, directorRoel Reiné moved to Hollywood where he became an influential director-producer ofStraight-to-DVD films, including theSteven Seagal-vehiclePistol Whipped (2008).Ate de Jong made a couple of low budget American films in the early nineties and directed an episode ofMiami Vice. In 2007 directorAnton Corbijn madeControl which premiered at theCannes Film Festival.[16][17] Other films he directed areA Most Wanted Man andThe American.
In the 1980s and 1990s few other Dutch actors had the international success of Hauer and Krabbé. Their contemporariesMonique van de Ven,Derek de Lint,Renée Soutendijk andHuub Stapel all returned to making Dutch films when their Hollywood-efforts proved disappointing. Actress Van de Ven ofTurkish Delight-fame moved to the US with her then-husband Jan de Bont and appeared in a number of small American films, to no significant success. De Lint's booked guest appearances in various TV shows likeNYPD Blue andThe L Word, and a number of supporting roles in theatrical movies, of which the most prominent wasThe Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). Soutendijk played the female lead inEve of Destruction (1991) and Huub Stapel, star of all of Dick Maas' box office hits, had a supporting role in a 1988TV-movie about Anne Frank.
In 1992, thecoming-of-ageromanticdrama film,Voor een Vorloren Soldaat, starring Krabbé andMaarten Smit was released.
In the early 2000s actorAntonie Kamerling played in the American independent filmFive Fingers in which, ironically, American actorRyan Phillippe plays the leading Dutch character. Kamerling also had a supporting part inExorcist: The Beginning. ActriceThekla Reuten, star ofOscar-nominatedTwin Sisters, made her US-debut inHighlander: The Source. Films likeIn Bruges,In Transit andThe American soon followed. She also had a supporting role in Season 2 ofSleeper Cell and a small role inLost.
As the decade progressed, actorYorick van Wageningen made a name for himself by appearing inBeyond Borders (2003),The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) andThe New World (2005). These films were to be preceded by a supporting role inSteven Spielberg'sMinority Report but due to problems with his visa, he was unable to work on that movie. Contrary to most other Dutch actors successful in Hollywood, Van Wageningen was not a major star in his own country before playing in American films. Likewise,Saskia Mulder (sister to modelKaren Mulder) made her debut abroad appearing in French and English films and television series. She had roles inThe Beach,The Descent andThe Descent: Part 2. She also was a series regular in the Scottish sitcomThe Book Group.
In early 2010 a new wave of film talent made its way to international success. Talents to emerge during the decade includedMarwan Kenzari,Lotte Verbeek,Sylvia Hoeks andMichiel Huisman.
Soon after Kenzari made his breakthrough in the Dutch filmWolf he made his US debut in the filmCollide withAnthony Hopkins. Films likeBen-Hur,The Mummy andMurder on the Orient Express soon followed. In 2017 it was announced that Kenzari would play the villainJafar in Disney's live-action adaptation ofAladdin.[18][19]Lotte Verbeek booked success playing in international television shows likeThe Borgias,Outlander,The Blacklist andMarvel'sAgent Carter.[20][21] She also had a role in movieThe Last Witch Hunter alongsideVin Diesel.[22] In the early 2010sSylvia Hoeks played in the filmsThe Girl and Death andThe Best Offer. And in 2017 Hoeks was cast thereplicant Luv in the science fiction filmBlade Runner 2049.[23][24]Michiel Huisman appeared inThe Young Victoria,World War Z andThe Age of Adaline. From 2014 till 2016 he played the role ofDaario Naharis onGame of Thrones.
Behind the scenes, cameramanTheo van de Sande, born in Tilburg, has made an impressive CV filming big budget films, having shot films such asCruel Intentions andBlade, after he previously had a worthy career in his native country. Other Dutch individuals with international credits include Hollywood sound designerCharles Deenen; Oscar-winning directorMarleen Gorris who made a number of international productions including the 1997 adaptation ofMrs Dalloway[broken anchor] and currently works on several British productions; DJ and composerJunkie XL who wrote additional music forRidley Scott'sKingdom of Heaven and scored the action filmDOA: Dead or Alive;Sylvia Kristel, most famous for her role asEmmanuelle in a series of softcore movies, also appeared in a large number of lesser known American (TV-)movies, of whichThe Nude Bomb, a feature film adaptation of the TV-seriesGet Smart is probably the most notable. Kristel briefly appears as Agent 34; an established cinematographer in the alternative film scene,Curaçao-bornRobby Müller has repeatedly worked withWim Wenders,Lars von Trier andJim Jarmusch; a director at the start of his career,Kees van Oostrum has moved to US to become a prolific cinematographer on various TV-movies and miniseries; two-timeAcademy Awards nominated production designerJan Roelfs, who worked withAndrew Niccol andOliver Stone;George Sluizer made an American remake of his popular cult hitSpoorloos, worked on pan-European co-productions and theRob Schneider-comedyThe Chosen One (2009); cameramanRogier Stoffers, who shot a number of US box office hits in the 2000s, most notablyDisturbia; tall manCarel Struycken, whose physique landed him the parts ofLurch inBarry Sonnenfeld'sThe Addams Family films andThe Giant inTwin Peaks;Jany Temime was costume designer on the last threeHarry Potter films,In Bruges andChildren of Men;Arjen Tuiten, a special make-up effects artist working for the Stan Winston Studio, withPan's Labyrinth as one of his prominent credits; Dutch born costume designerElsa Zamparelli, who received an Oscar nomination forDances with Wolves.
In 2016,Martin Koolhoven directedBrimstone, his first international film (with international stars). The dark and violent western/thriller was first shown in competition at theVenice Film Festival and was very well received in Europe, yet got mixed reviews inThe United States. Dutch photographerAnton Corbijn made his film debut directing the British biopicControl aboutJoy Division lead singerIan Curtis.
As of 24 November 2008[update], the top-15 most visited Dutch films since 1945 were:[25]
The winning films are marked with blue in this list of Academy Award nominated films.
| Year | Film title | Award category |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | High Stakes in the East | Documentary |
| 1959 | Glass (Glas) | Documentary Short Subject |
| 1959 | The Village on the River (Dorp aan de rivier) | Best Foreign Language Film |
| 1962 | Big City Blues | Live Action Short Film |
| 1962 | Pan | Live Action Short Film |
| 1964 | The Human Dutch (Alleman) | Documentary Feature |
| 1967 | Sky over Holland | Live Action Short Film |
| 1971 | Adventures in Perception | Documentary Short Subject |
| 1972 | Ape and Super-Ape (Bij de beesten af) | Documentary Feature |
| 1972 | This Tiny World (Deze kleine wereld) | Documentary Short Subject |
| 1973 | Turkish Delight (Turks fruit) | Best Foreign Language Film |
| 1978 | Oh My Darling | Animated Short Film |
| 1986 | Anna & Bella | Animated Short Film |
| 1986 | The Assault (De aanslag) | Best Foreign Language Film |
| 1995 | Antonia's Line (Antonia) | Best Foreign Language Film |
| 1997 | Character (Karakter) | Best Foreign Language Film |
| 1999 | 3 Misses | Animated Short Film |
| 2000 | Father and Daughter | Animated Short Film |
| 2002 | Hotel Paraiso (Zus & zo) | Best Foreign Language Film |
| 2003 | Twin Sisters (De tweeling) | Best Foreign Language Film |
| Source: The Official Academy Awards Database. | ||
There are three large film festivals in the Netherlands:
There are several smaller film festivals in the Netherlands, and several of them are held in Amsterdam. These festivals are either local festivals or festivals specialized in films of a specific genre (e. g. fantastic films), for/about a specific target group (e. g. films for/about deaf people), or from a specific region (e. g. Japanese films).
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