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Cinema of the Netherlands

Encyclopedia : C : CI : CIN : Cinema of the Netherlands

EUROPEAN CINEMA
(nl) indicates a reference to the Dutch WikiPedia.

The Dutch film industry has long been renowned for its documentaries. The most prominent Dutch directors, especially those who started their carreers before World War II, came from a documentary background, for instance Joris Ivens and Bert Haanstra. Since the early 1970s, however, documentary production aimed at a theatrical release has declined, perhaps due to a shift towards television documentary.

Because the Dutch film industry is relatively small, and there is little to no international market for Dutch films, almost all Dutch films rely on state funding. This funding can be achieved through several sources, for instance through the Dutch Film Fund or the Dutch public broadcast networks ('omroepen'). In recent years the Dutch Government has established several tax shelters for private investments in Dutch films.

Contents

History

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 Holland 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 for Dutch-spoken films, which resulted in a boom in production: between 1934 and 1940, 37 feature films were released. To accommodate the rapid growth, the Dutch film industry looked to foreign personnel experienced with sound film technology. Mostly these were Germans who had fled their country as Hitler took power. Several renowned German directors who would go on to work in Hollywood directed films in the Netherlands in this period, most notably Douglas Sirk (Boefje, 1939).

During World War II, the Dutch film industry came to a near halt. In the years directly following the war, most effort was given to the reconstruction of the country; film was not a priority. In the late 1950s the Dutch film industry proffesionalized. The [Nederlands Film Fund (Dutch)] (Dutch Film Fund) was established in 1957, the [Nederlandse Filmacademie (Dutch)] (Dutch Film Academy) in 1958. Documentary filmer Bert Haansta made his first fiction film, Fanfare, in 1958. Even though the film was a big success, this success was onlny incidental.

A more lasting success for Dutch film came in the 1970s, mostly under the influence of one man: Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven five films of the decade - Wat zien ik? (Business Is Business; 1971), Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight; 1973), Keetje Tippel (Katie Tippel; 1975), Soldaat van Oranje (Soldier of Orange, 1977) and Spetters (1980) - were box-office hits; they are still in the top-twenty most successful Dutch films ever. Turkish Delight and Soldier of Orange were successful abroad as well and eventually led to Verhoeven's Hollywood career. At the moment, Verhoeven is back in the Netherlands directing Zwartboek (Black Book), expected to be released later this year.

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. These films, most notably Costa! (2001), were mostly aimed at a (young) mass audience. Costa! is about Dutch teenagers vacationing at the Spanish coast. The success of the film spawned several copycat films (for instance Volle maan (Full Moon; 2002)) and a spin-off sitcom (also called Costa!), which ran for several seasons on Dutch public broadcasting network BNN.

Acclaimed Dutch directors

Acclaimed Dutch films

Top-10 visited Dutch films since 1945

As of December 31st, 2003. Source: Hans Schoots, Van Fanfare tot Spetters (2004), p. 211.
  1. Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight, 1973) - 3.328.804
  2. Fanfare [(nl)] (1958) - 2.635.178
  3. Ciske de rat (1955 film) [(nl)] (1955) - 2.432.500
  4. Wat zien ik? (Business Is Business, 1971) - 2.358.946
  5. Blue Movie [(nl)] (1971) - 2.335.301
  6. Flodder [(nl)] (1986) - 2.313.701
  7. Keetje Tippel (Katie Tippel, 1975) - 1.829.116
  8. Alleman (1963) - 1.664.645
  9. Ciske de Rat (1984 film) [(nl)] (1984) - 1.593.311
  10. Soldaat van Oranje (Soldier of Orange, 1977) - 1.547.183

Oscar nominations

Dutch films nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Oscar), with winning films in bold:

Other acclaimed Dutch films

Festivals

See also

External links

 

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