Discoveries from Netherlands World Cinema

Registration of the fourth theatre program by the Dutch comedy duo (Niels) Van der Laan & (Jeroen) Woe.

On the island Tiengemeten, thirteen miles south of Rotterdam as the crow flies, all roads come to a dead end. Behind the dykes is water and wilderness. Here, among these dykes on 1700 acres of fertile land, director Digna Sinke filmed from 1996 how Tiengemeten is intended to become a stretch of wild nature, as part of a conservation plan. This is easier said than done. Alternative land with living accommodations has to be provided for six farming families. This comes through for five, but not for Leen Vos. Sinke also filmed how project groups regularly come and take a look and call meetings. Tiengemeten will be divided into three sections: Wistfulness, Wilderness and Wealth. However, nobody knows how the plan will work out. The negotiators allow farmer Leen Vos to stay until 2007. Until that time, the project cannot be carried out. Sinke just keeps filming, in her restrained, observant style, devoted to the magnificent scenery.

Story with a macabre twist about a peculiar boy, who gathers cats from the street and returns them - for a reward - to the rightful owner. One day, he comes across a poster that reports the missing of a beautiful girl. His observations, distorted by loneliness, lead him to believe he knows where she is, but during his rescue operation he loses sight of the dangers of the real world.

The indomitable laughter of a radical. A collage. Third of four in a series for the VPRO.

In his eighth show the Dutch comedian Hans Sibbel aka Lebbis looks for the interest that people have in their clarity and truth, and then kicks dents in it. Show recorded in the open air in the summer of 2013.

The older Prince Bernhard tells the story of his exciting life to Princess Máxima. After all, when Prince Willem-Alexander takes the throne, she will be his Queen and take up much the same position as Bernhard did as husband to former Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. His story takes us from Palace Soestdijk to once-German Reckenwalde with the young Bernhard, to Nazi-Berlin, wartime in London, Argentina and Canada and much more. It paints a portrait of the world from the thirties to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Bernhard survived the deepest of crises: accusation of treason by Ian Fleming during the war, corruption in the fifties and seventies, extra-marital daughters and even being the main reason for a dutch governmental crisis.

This documentary tells the story of Ibrahim Mokdad, a queer Lebanese refugee who finds himself in Germany after years of violence in his home country. Following Ibrahim’s narration, we trace his path from prison and hospitals, to refugee camps and a hard-won home. Ibrahim’s story shares a deeply personal and eye-witness perspective into Fortress Europe—the policies that have rendered migration treacherous and often deadly—as well as the nuanced challenges LGBTQ+ refugees face in their homelands, en route, and during resettlement.

Comedy show in which Wouter Deprez reflects on being 15 years on stage.

Intimate interview film in which three young women talk about the impact of choosing abortion. About the doubts, the shame and how this experience plays a role in their lives now. The film interweaves the interviews with powerful images that symbolize the different phases of their struggle.

Film footage of the WA, including images of uniformed WA members performing drill exercises, of a star rally in the vicinity of Amstenrade Castle, at which Mussert and Marchant et d'Ansembourgh are present, and the WA parades. Furthermore, recordings are shown of the WA members in Arnhem holding a march, and of the WA's spring marches in Amersfoort, where the members march without uniforms. This was related to the ban on uniforms instituted by the Dutch State.

Filled with excitement to complete the project of her dreams, Jip needs one final piece of clothing. Realising it is not there on the big day has her chasing through Rotterdam to find it. The pressure rises as she’s told her dream is at risk of being sold to the highest bidder.

Kappa, a woman in her 30s, finds herself in a facility that promotes social integration to individuals. Soon enough, she witnesses several attempts for interaction, which lead to a somewhat awkward reality. She therefore creates a survival mechanism and allows herself to get captivated within her fantasy world and reality. Caught into creating scenarios, she redefines communication as well as the borders of where a relationship starts and where it ends.

A short documentary film made up of archival footage shot in 2003, which was reworked and edited in 2018-2019. The film shows a haphazardly shot, fragmented property viewing and inventarisation through the eyes of a child, featuring a voice over by that same child. Because of having unrestricted access to their family’s camcorder as a child, there were a few instances where the artist's child form had shot ‘full length’ documentary films - with this documentary short being one of those instances. Often these documentations were a call for seeking comfort in a new surrounding, stemming from a deep fear of being forgotten or unheard, and a playful way of documenting one’s thoughts and feelings. In many ways the artist, Mees Joachim, was the original vlogger, before the advent of Youtube.

When three teenagers suddenly lose all connection to the outside world, what begins as an ordinary glitch turns into something far more unsettling...

In a bleak future world we see Willem Van Hanegem Jr. of W&W assemble a team of mercenaries, including Blasterjaxx and the rest of W&W, to help on a mission. Clad in 'Rave Culture' clothing, these mercenaries infiltrate a facility where other agents from their team have been held and interrogated by enemy forces. With help from agents on the inside (recognizable by their 'Rave Culture' wrist tattoos), they secretly give the captured agents earpieces that connect them to the rest of the team. The agents are interrogated by a dangerous enemy man when Hanegem and his hacker team connect to their earpieces and play music into their ears, empowering the agents to defeat their captors and make their escape.

Jake a 32-year-old rule-abiding police officer has to solve a murder after a heavy night out drinking and remembers nothing the next morning. Could he be guilty of the murder?

Little Red Riding Hood: the whole story in 1m 30sec.

A tale of courage and hope.

A young man reflects on all the pivotal moments of his sexual development which brought him to where he is today: by his wife's side as she is about to give birth to their first child.

A documentary about the relationship between nature, culture and people in the Ruhr region.

In the village of Oranje in Drenthe, which has 150 inhabitants, a reception center for initially 1,400 refugees was established in 2014 by The Hague without consultation. Due to the extensive media attention, the village became a symbol of the fear of asylum seekers. Despite anger over the procedure, Oranje was also willing to help the refugees. Especially the local shop owned by Jan and his family quickly became a welcoming place. When the reception center closed three years later, it left a bigger void than expected. This provides a nuanced view behind the news stories, offering insights into how people react to unexpected situations.

As a forensic investigator at the Rotterdam Police, Natascha searches for evidence left by perpetrators at crime scenes. Natascha wants to be able to provide answers to the loved ones, despite the intense nature of her work. She witnesses gruesome things, which she tries to cope with in her free time by fully immersing herself in her model-building hobby. However, even in her hobby, her work resurfaces. Is creating miniature crime scenes her way of processing everything she sees in her job?

Seniors Atifah, Mel and Rita live together on a ship and often have breakfast together. This time the breakfast is slightly different because they are going to celebrate the birthday of the goldfish El Tigre for the first time since the death of beloved resident Leviy. While preparing for the birthday, everyone finds out that Leviy has left a hole and they do not know how to cope with the grief of her death – a hole they cannot fill with blueberry muffins but with the help of an unknown guest.

Al Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948 is a groundbreaking documentary film that comprehensively examines the events that resulted in the creation of over 700,000 Palestinian refugees and the destruction of approximately 400 Palestinian villages at the end of the first "Israeli-Arab war" in 1948. Featuring historian Benny Morris and drawing on his book “The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949,” this film is conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic with English voice-over. It is widely regarded as the first film to seriously tackle these historic events.

Registration of the sixth solo show by the Dutch comedian Sara Kroos.

George Pal cel-animated hand-drawn commercial for The Philips Company 1930s 335 Shortwave Radio.

A whole new universe can hide in the smallest speck of ink.

A man becomes obsessed with ocular nightmares.

In China, beekeeping is an ancient and traditional profession. Every spring, beekeepers migrate huge distances with their bees in search of the best nectar to harvest the highest quality honey. Relying on the changing seasons and fluctuating temperatures, making a living is becoming increasingly difficult in this traditional industry. Flower Chasers follows the journey of young beekeeper Xiaolong and his family as they travel across China in search of flowers and honey, witnessing the precarious living conditions beekeepers face, along with the threat of an ecological crisis.

The Pavilion on the Water is a cinematic journey into the world of Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa and his passion for Japanese culture. Japan, to him, was an inspirational universe but also the place where he eventually died in 1978, at the height of his career, while retracing the steps of wandering poet Matsuo Bashō. Through the words of his son, some of his collaborators and a Japanese philosopher, the documentary unfolds and quests after the sense of beauty. A nostalgic feeling permeates the whole film for that rare event which is the birth of an artist. Although he passed away, he left behind a work that, still to this day, delights and amuses.

Reportage about the opening of the pumping station in Lemmer, Netherlands.

A film about an Artificial Intelligence that became self aware and realises the world is doomed because of humanity.

Inspired by the eponymous jazz of Eric Vloeimans’ Gatecrash, Jailbreak whimsically bursts forth as a series of interconnected pentagons, each with its own identity – and will.

In the documentary Brandstof (Energy), several young adults share intimately what it's like to be completely burned out at an early stage of life.

White-clad figures in gas masks appear from time to time. They are the Program group. It is presumably the behaviour of these characters - the population - who appear in each other's strange dreams that has triggered the desire of businessmen and politicians to call in foreign help to restore order. They have come with unknown aims, and are doing their work in terror. The film is a chain of surreal dreams, yet the feeling is familiar. We are home.

How did the life of the famous Spanish violinist and composer evolve and what inspired and influenced him to compose the works he created?

That night, Jesper and Rein wanted to go to Tessa's party. They have just played sports and are exhausted, Rein has been hit especially hard (he thinks), and therefore has an incredible appetite for Peking Duck from his favourite Chinese restaurant. Jesper doubts as he is a bit short on cash (as he has been for decades). This exposes a skewed dynamic in their friendship.