Cinema of the Netherlands refers to the film industry based in the Netherlands. 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 the Netherlands Film Fund or the public broadcast networks. In recent years the Dutch Government has established several tax shelters for private investments in Dutch films.
The Golden Calf is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention. In 2004, there were 16 award categories, mainly because in 2003 the categories Best Photography, Best Montage, Best Music, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design were added.
Black Book is a 2006 war drama thriller film co-written and directed by Paul Verhoeven, and starring Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman and Halina Reijn. The film, credited as based on several true events and characters, is about a young Jewish woman in the Netherlands who becomes a spy for the resistance during World War II after tragedy befalls her in an encounter with the Nazis. The film had its world premiere on 1 September 2006 at the Venice Film Festival and its public release on 14 September 2006 in the Netherlands. It is the first film that Verhoeven made in his native Netherlands since The Fourth Man, made in 1983 before he moved to the United States.
Carice Anouk van Houten is a Dutch actress and singer. Her first leading role in the television film Suzy Q (1999) won her the Golden Calf for Best Acting in a Television Drama; two years later, she won the Golden Calf for Best Actress for Miss Minoes (2001).
Kim van Kooten is a Dutch actress and screenwriter. In international cinema, she is best known for the 2003 Dutch/US co-production Phileine Says Sorry, filmed partly in New York City, in which she plays the lead. She is the author of the script of the very successful Dutch movie Alles is Liefde, and won a Golden Calf for Best Actress in Phileine Says Sorry (2003), and for Best Scenario with Met grote blijdschap (2001).
Twin Sisters is a 2002 Dutch film, directed by Ben Sombogaart, based on the novel The Twins by Tessa de Loo, with a screenplay by Dutch actress and writer Marieke van der Pol.
The Netherlands Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.
Valentín is a 2002 Argentine-French-Italian drama film written and directed by Alejandro Agresti. The film features Rodrigo Noya as Valentín and Carmen Maura as the grandmother. Director Alejandro Agresti also stars as Valentín's father.
Melody Zoë Klaver is a Dutch actress.
Interview is a 2003 Dutch drama film, directed by Theo van Gogh, starring Katja Schuurman and Pierre Bokma. The film is about a war correspondent having an interview with a soap opera actress.
The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf for best long feature film at the NFF.
Duska is a 2007 Dutch film directed by Jos Stelling. It was the Netherlands' submission to the 80th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. At the Netherlands Film Festival, where it was the opening film Sylvia Hoeks won the Best Supporting Actress Golden Calf for her role as a cashier, while composer Bart van de Lisdonk was nominated for Best Music.
Winter in Wartime is a 2008 Dutch war film directed by Martin Koolhoven. The screenplay was written by Mieke de Jong, Paul Jan Nelissen, and Martin Koolhoven based on Jan Terlouw's eponymous 1972 novel.
Brimstone is a 2016 psychological western film written and directed by Martin Koolhoven. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Emilia Jones, Kit Harington, and Carice van Houten. It is a Dutch-American as well as French, German, Belgian and Swedish international production.
Marwan Kenzari is a Dutch actor born in The Hague, Netherlands. Starting his career in 2008, he first came to prominence for his role in the 2013 film Wolf, which earned him a Golden Calf award for Best Actor. Since 2016, he has been starring in English-language films, including Aladdin (2019), The Old Guard (2020) and Black Adam (2022), which earned him international recognition.
Wolf is a Dutch action drama-martial arts film, and the second film made by Jim Taihattu and Julius Ponten, from Habbekrats, an independent production company in the Netherlands.
Medea is a 2005 Dutch television serial in six episodes directed by Theo van Gogh, starring Katja Schuurman, Thijs Römer and Tara Elders. It tells the story of the daughter of a politician who tries to help her selfish boyfriend to become the prime minister of the Netherlands.
Martijn Fischer is a Dutch actor.
Arne Toonen is a Dutch film director. Several of his films won the Golden Film and Platinum Film awards.
My Foolish Heart is a 2018 Dutch biographical film by Rolf van Eijk. It follows a police detective in Amsterdam who tries to reconstruct the final days of Chet Baker before his death on 13 May 1988. The film was Van Eijk's feature film directorial debut.
