Discoveries from Netherlands World Cinema

Gordon gets roasted.

Theo Maassen is back. In all its anger, indignation, amazement about so much stupidity and lack of empathy in society, and advocates understanding and reconciliation.

A drama consisting of two parts: In 't Water and De Boer Die Sterft. The first part tells the story of Jan Boele, who is forced to marry Tale Siepers, a girl who is pregnant with his child. However, Jan is in love with Poezeke, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, and dreads his marriage. On their wedding day, he refuses to get up when the bride arrives, leading to a tragic ending. The second part follows Nand, a Flemish farmer who, on his deathbed, looks back on his life, which consisted mainly of working and eating according to the rhythm of the seasons. He remembers his childhood, his wife Wanne, and his mother, and realizes that his life was not as empty as he thought.

In this sequel to Honey, I'm Going to Ride My Bicycle!, our protagonist deals with the fallout from the events of that film. (And the fallout from a cupboard.)

The free online "encyclopedia of the people" Wikipedia has been topping the lists of the world's most popular websites. VPRO Backlight plunges into the story behind Wikipedia and explores the world of Web 2.0.

A documentary about the creation of the Efteling attraction PandaDroom.

Kim and Bob have been inseparable since childhood. Does puberty end their friendship?

Johan van der Keuken's first film is a uniquely beautiful portrait of Paris at dawn.

Journalist Stella discovers the secrets of the Lotte de Heus Verolmen, the widow of the Dutch nazi-collaborator party NSB-frontman Ewald de Heus Verolmen.

With spring, the first lapwing eggs appear. A short impression of the Friesian tradition of egg collecting.

Headbutt portrays the desire of Tobias (15) to restore the old relationship he had with his brother Lucas (18). While they used to do everything together, Lucas now has no interest in his younger brother anymore. When Tobias fantasizes that Lucas will commit suicide, Tobias has no other option than to restore the relationship with his isolated brother.

William, Jack and Chris have been friends for as long as they can remember - until that day in April when Jack ends up under the wheels of a tractor, his body crushed, William at the wheel. Suddenly nothing is left of the boys' friendship. Chris tries his best, but William is one lump of impenetrable rock, secretly wondering if the events of the night before, when Jack went off with fifteen-year old Marianne, had anything to do with the accident...

In Robota, Verena Blok highlights the machinic power of the muscular, hyper-masculine body in motion, and draws attention to its former idealization and eroticization in Soviet propaganda. The artist reveals how, in Poland, a climate of precarity and economic hardship has allowed xenophobic rhetoric to fill the void created by the decline of socialist ideology. Recording herself in conversation with the men, Blok shows how they simultaneously propagate and suffer from prejudice, and gravitate toward the same nativist policies that limit their own freedoms.

Lying on a bunk bed in a children's home, eleven-year-old Lu talks with dreamy eyes about her mother, Karina, who claims to be a famous Hollywood actress who smells of oranges, talks to the stars and does her own stunts.

An intimate look into the life, career and creative process of Dutch rapper and singer Lars Bos a.k.a. Snelle.

Marie and Steven appear to be a happy couple, but Steven's secret relationship with another man begins to threaten his idyllic home life.

Fabian builds his house on an old cart that he will pull himself, with the plan to walk to Serbia. But then it turns out that building the cart in itself is quite a journey. Will the cart ever leave it's place?

Melanie is obsessed with the life of her possible donor father. Is she looking for a future or a past with him?

Seventy-year-old Agnes takes the ashes of her dear Robert and travels to their regular holiday cottage on the Scottish island of Mull. On the way, two Dutch runaways, the ten-year-old girl Chris and her younger brother Tommie, sneak into her car. The children warn Agnes they will flee again if she calls the police. In the secluded house, beautifully located near a bay with a view of the sea, the elderly woman and the children gradually grow towards each other. Chris is confident and short-tempered, and dominates not only her younger, pigheaded brother, but also old Agnes, who loses herself in memories of Robert. Meanwhile, Agnes has to withstand the people who want to take over the house from her. The surroundings play a major role in this adaptation of Renate Dorrestein's novel about family, trust and secrets.

Kamiel steals the famous Brussels statue of Manneken Pis to impress his girlfriend Denise, the daughter of the man who is supposed to guard it. The Belgians, however, wrongly accuse the Dutch of having stolen their statue and hit back by stealing the statue of Hansje Brink.

A feminine machine, stuffed with modern nano-technology and useless operations is depicted in this mixed-media 2D animation short, highlighting the consequences of consumerism and the downfall of civilized society. The machine reminiscent of a two-dimensional video game, leads to a destructive chain reaction after a strange malfunction, with people turning into clones and robots.

Detective Beauty undertakes an investigation into reality. He tries to understand a world he cannot grasp, to capture the things that escape him.

The Other Final is a 2003 documentary film, directed by Johan Kramer, about a football match between Bhutan and Montserrat, the then-lowest ranked teams in the FIFA World Rankings.

Short film by Adriaan Lokman

A short film in which Quran verses are shown alongside images from terrorist attacks.

Registration of the "musical-pastiche theatre program" by the Dutch comedian Brigitte Kaandorp. She accompanied by an ensemble and several musicians.

Reconstruction of the political drama around Ayaan Hirsi Ali that heralded the fall of the Dutch cabinet. A musical documentary on a subject close to all Dutch people: truth and lies in politics. The film exposes the motives surrounding the drama in which feminist activist and politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali was accused of lying about her identity. In this political story we are also told the personal tale of the young girl Sadaf, who sought asylum years ago. THE LIE demonstrates the human side of Dutch politics, while revealing how Holland deals with the thorny immigration issue.

There is a meal on the fire. The cat walks across the table. In one smooth shot, we see there is still warmth in the large, secluded house of fresh widow Thea. Still, her son is worried about her. One stormy day, he drops by to check how his mom is doing. Wouldn’t it be better if she moved to a nursing home or if he arranged home care? Thea resolutely rejects all suggestions. She does not need more care, she claims. The question is if this is really the case.

Family, friends and acquaintances of recently deceased twenty-something Tobias come together after the funeral to share their loss. Tobias’ three best friends subsequently stay together into the wee hours, hoping to reach some sort of acceptance.

A registration of legendary reggaeband Doe Maar‘s Symphonica in Rosso reunion concert accompanied by Guido's Orchestra.

During a night drive, John stops at a rest stop near a highway. When he enters the building, he hears a man assaulting a woman in the ladies room. John struggles with the idea of intervening as the altercation escalates.

In the shadow of the feared 'millennium bug', a Surinamese family navigates New Year's Eve 1999, discovering that facing their fears and having difficult conversations leads to new beginnings, rather than the end of the world.

What do you want to be when you grow up? An innocent question that seems to have so many wrong answers. Especially in the Chen family, according to the twenty-year-old Suyin. Trying to prove her worth, she starts many impressive studies and quits them just as quickly after realizing she has no passion for them. Like any young adult, she tries to find her place in this world and in her chaotic family while stumbling through life. When Suyin spends her Christmas Eve dreaming away instead of helping the nearly bankrupt family restaurant, Mrs. Chen has had enough. She gives her daughter an ultimatum: choose a study before Chinese New Year and create a promising future for yourself, or give up your freedom and work for your parents.

Jessica Villerius follows Memphis closely from his rehabilitation period to his first Champions League match.

Joep is a piano tuner, and not the best in his profession. His fiancee ends their relationship and Joep wants to end his life. Then he meets Dorien. They fall in love, but they must deal with some issues from the past--like an ex-lover and a hitman.

In this graduation film and modern interpretation of the famous epic, Odysseus relates how he, after winning the Trojan War, resolutely returns to his home in Ithaca. A story about psychedelic lotus flowers, introverted one-eyed giants, sexy Sirens and queer witches. About sea, wind, and carnivorous drag queens. And about letting go.Based on a Spotify playlist full of pop music by contemporary celebrated artists, including Frank Ocean, Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX, Rosalía, Nicolás Jaar and James Blake.

In De Nestvlieder, Cor - a nest keeper - has been caring for his disabled mother Teuntje all his adult life. When his sister Hennie - who is on sabbatical - comes back to take care of their mother as well, Cor's life, which consists entirely of fixed patterns, gets upset.

An amnesiac old man Zarlyk who after twenty-three years of ordeal in a foreign land, returns to his homeland. Events take place in a village in Kyrgyzstan, where he is brought by his matured son Kubat. Much has changed during his absence: the morals of the villagers, mired in the realities of a changing world, radicalization of Islam, growing crime, and moral corrosive corruption began to consume... Zarlyk’s wife Umsunai, having lost hope of his return, went into religion, married the local authority Jaichy. The bright past invades the already accustomed Umsunai’s life. But nothing touches Zarlyk. An inexplicable passion for collecting garbage replaced him everything. Will the memory return to him and will Umsunai gain lost happiness when they are pressed by tight attitudes and immorality of the clergy, when love has eclipsed recklessness?

A young woman from Amsterdam decides to sell her one year old jeep on the street one day. A passer by on a bike helps her repair and charms her during this process. However, he shows no interest in buying the car.

Documentary about the writer Thomas Verbogt and the creation of his latest work. The film shows how Verbogt takes a radical experience from his earliest childhood as the starting point for a novel. Drawn animations, combined with filmed scenes, depict how the writer's imagination sprouts from a literary character.

On New Year’s Eve, a brother and sister living on the streets look for warmth and safety in a cold, festive city. A stranger’s kindness seems to give them hope, but it puts their trust to the test.

Now that contraception is controlled by women, men seem to experience carefree sexual freedom. In reality, they lose autonomy over their own seed. Director Lynn Deen started the film out of frustration: Why was the woman always the one to carry the burden that comes with lust? Gradually she saw that this luxury position actually places men in a dangerous position of dependence. They have virtually no control over both the prevention and the termination of a pregnancy. That is why they should be more involved in preventing pregnancy. Not only for women, but especially for themselves.

When Farid’s mother dies, he and his father Dariush are both grieving in their own way. They’ve never been close and this escalates when Farid wants to play his mother’s favorite song for Dariush. What starts as a simple act ends in an outburst of emotions.

In a small, semi-utopian city, all the streets are named after poets. When war begins, new neighbourhoods emerge to accommodate the refugees. Now, the streets are named after soldiers.

Asked by his girlfriend about the essence of his love for her, a young man remembers a dream he once had about the African jungle, in which the forces of nature seemed to lead a life of their own.

Two prisoners have the perfect escape plan but something unexpected happens that changes everything.

A young father and mother meet each other by their little son’s hospital bed. From their terse sentences, but especially from their mutual discomfort, you can tell they are divorced and rarely talk to each other. Because their son has to stay overnight for observation, the parents are forced to spend the night together. This also forces the viewer to observe how much is left of their relationship.

A son gets blamed for not doing anything, like for example helping his father. But is this true?

Mieke is being harassed by an inexplicable phenomenon. She is having nightmares and her children are acting strange. For no apparent reason her mother appears, after a long period without any contact. She tries to warn Mieke for impending doom. Has it something to do with the doll that one of her sons got for his birthday? Mieke makes a discovery, a very dark one. Something that will turn her life upside down.

A short film that delves into the dissociative relation of a woman and her image.

Rode Gordijnen (Red Curtains) is a film about a man who tries to breathe new life into his out of touch relationship with his wife. Both characters seem to have reconciled themselves to their extinguished marriage: they have simply stopped communicating. But along the way their attitude towards each other, and towards their surroundings, changes substantially.

Tracklisting: Almere Live 05 August 13: Go / Something To Say / Taurus / Don't Let It Pass You By / Mother / So Glad You Made It / Before You Let Me Go / Believe It / Let It Be / Master Of The Game / Dreamer / Damn Those Eyes / Rain Down On Me / All I Can Do / Where Do I Go Now / Fearless / Love For The Sake Of Life

A film about relationships where expectations are out of joint, especially where both partners have different cultural backgrounds. Set in the Netherlands, 'Burden' gives a contemporary glimpse of the dynamics of two relationships between Eastern European women and Dutch men. The movie explores their respective cultural differences. It explores female friendships and the difficulties of being 'foreign' in your adopted country. Also, how fate puts the friendship of these two women, one from Russia, and one from Ukraine, to the test by outside forces.

Rosa is thirteen. She is sensitive, creative and has a sense of humor. But she is also good at worrying, dissatisfied with her appearance, insecure and shy. Rosa's mother wants to live together with her new boyfriend, so they move to Groningen, where Alexander lives. Rosa hates that. She must leave everything she knows and what is familiar to her behind. including her best friend Esther. She has to go to a new school where she doesn't know anyone, and live in the house of Monkeyass! Basically, she needs a lot of things she doesn't want. How will she survive this?