SEE NL Youth and Family films from the Netherlands Fall 2016/Spring 2017 Index Introduction 2 Introduction It all began back in the 1990s when a former teacher called Burny 5 Testament of Youth Bos decided that film entertainment for kids didn’t have to be American and dubbed. Before Bos, there were no Dutch children’s Selected releases films in the cinemas. After Bos, the Netherlands is arguably the 8 Storm Letter of Fire leading European producer of films within the kids sector. 9 The Day My Father Became A Bush “Burny started off with The Flying Liftboy, and then there was 10 Mister Twister At The Pitch Miss Minoes and Winky’s Horse and many, many others, and he 11 Enough! proved that it was possible to make smart, serious, entertaining, 12 Owls & Mice sophisticated children’s films from the Netherlands, spoken in 13 Siv Sleeps Astray Dutch, attracting huge audiences and able to travel across borders,” 14 Master Spy says Netherlands Film Fund CEO Doreen Boonekamp. “He started 15 The Club of Saint Nicholas getting families to Dutch films because the films he produced were 16 Mr Frog so good.” 17 Woozle and Pip 18 Monkey Business And the Dutch industry embraced the cause, with numerous 19 Dummie the Mummie filmmakers going on to win international renown, such as 20 Keet and Koen Maria Peters, Martin Koolhoven, Joram Lûrsen, Ben Sombogaart, 21 Code M Boudewijn Koole, Dennis Bots and Nicole van Kilsdonk and many 22 Little Gangster more. These directors attracted Dutch kids (and adults) to cinemas 23 Kidnap in their millions. “It has been a long and exciting progress of 24 Boy7 developing and producing excellent children’s family films, and the 25 Jack’s Wish very special thing is that the best filmmakers can tell their stories by 26 Life According To Nino taking the same eye level as the children, their audience, to address 27 Loonies II all the topics that these kids are confronted with as they grow into 28 Secrets Of War adolescence,” Boonekamp underlines. 29 Boys 30 The Amazing Wiplala “This is also why Dutch film is attractive for the international industry. Many countries would like to make these types of films for In development their own young audiences and through dialogue, co-operation and 31 Super Sully bringing talents together, we are very happy to join forces with them 31 Harley And The Dreamfactory on an international level.” 32 Vicious 32 My Extraordinary Summer With Tess 33 Spacekees 33 Totem 34 Kung Fu Lion Contact: Doreen Ellis Driessen Frank Peijnenburg Boonekamp International Affairs Head Screen NL CEO e.driessen@ f.peijnenburg@ d.boonekamp@ filmfonds.nl filmfonds.nl filmfonds.nl Miss Minoes (2001) 2 3 Testament of Youth With the new four-year funding whether majority or minority. “We think it is essential to cycle kicking in from 2017, Dutch increase production levels within this sector,” she investment in the children and youth confirms. sector will remain a cornerstone of the Fund’s policy, while through Frank Peijnenburg, head of Screen NL, puts Dutch additional investment in the success within the kids sector down to a very grown-up development and production of approach by the professionals within it. “They think of individual projects we aim to increase their audience in a different way to arthouse directors and the quality of the output, underlines producers of mainstream films,” he stresses. “They are so Film Fund CEO Doreen Boonekamp. well aware of what is important for the kids from an entertainment point of view, but also from the perspective Over recent years the core A-festivals with of life’s values and the problems that children face. The dedicated programmes for young audiences young audiences recognize and appreciate this. When you have consistently reserved top slots for new take kids seriously they develop in a different way.” Dutch cinema. In 2016 Berlinale Generation selected six Dutch films, including the Peijnenburg cites the director/producer team of Dennis K-plus opener Siv Sleeps Astray, co-produced Bots and Harro van Staverden, responsible for the highly by leading Dutch producer Viking Film. The successful 2WW film Secrets of War (2014) and the latest TIFF Kids included Nicole van upcoming €6 million Storm, a 16th Century historical Kilsdonk’s fantastical The Day My Father drama about the Reformation. “They are very committed Became a Bush and this year’s Cinekid, one much to the world of children and to education. Denis is of the key international staging posts for the so clever, not comforting, not pleasing the audience, development, finance and exhibition of teasing them while knowing exactly what he wants, easily films and programmes for kids, opens with able to enter the imagination of the young people. He Simone van Dusseldorp’s Owls and Mice. makes a study of it.” Producer Van Staverden explains how the two films “When you take kids seriously benefited greatly from Dutch soft money. “Secrets of War they develop in a different way” had a great impact within the target group. We had 170,000 admissions but, more importantly, we reached 300,000 kids with educational materials based on the film. And we had an additional release in the cinema “Children’s and youth film is a very strong thanks to these educational materials, after the film’s Dutch brand,” points out Fund head normal release, and this was all down to the soft money. Boonekamp. “These films not only appeal Otherwise you can never make such an expensive movie.” to a large audience in the Netherlands, but they also seem to be very attractive to “We hope Storm will do the same, also a historical movie international audiences, which we can tell about freedom of expression and religious tolerance, from the selections not only at international which are topics that are very urgent today,” Van festivals but from their travelling across Staverden adds of the film for which the Film Production borders through distribution, either Incentive provided 8% of the budget, a rebate of theatrical or non-theatrical.” approximately €495,000. “That is very significant money,” he comments. Which is precisely why the Fund chief is looking to back at least six or seven youth And could the film have been made without this rebate? films per year with selective funding, “It would have made it a lot more complicated, and we Owls and Mice (p12) 4 5 wouldn’t have been able to find it in the to make projects, from the very start, appealing to Netherlands,’ the producer responds. “So we audiences across borders as they seek a wider audience.” would have had to find another country to The Dutch/German co-development fund was launched at come on board as a co-producer which Berlinale in early February 2015 to develop and would have made the production more co-produce high-quality films for young audiences from complicated. With the Incentive we were both countries and beyond. able to keep it as a Dutch majority production.” Another benefit of minority co-pro contribution within the youth sector is the successful export of Dutch The kids sector en masse is looking forward production and creative talent which, argue both to the return of the Cinema Junior scheme Boonekamp and Peijnenburg, can only improve the that until 2012 invested heavily in the standard of output from the sector across Europe. Recent development and production of original examples include Marleen Slot of Viking Film who screenplays, Boonekamp confirms. The co-produced the Swedish Siv Sleeps Astray, that opened initiative was scrapped four years ago after Berlinale Generation, and production powerhouse one of the partners pulled their support, but Submarine’s decision to come on board the family the market failed to plug the gap in adventure Cloudboy, produced with Belgium and Sweden. investment in order to guarantee a supply “I think because of the experience within the sector, our line of high quality fare, opting instead for professionals can make a big contribution to raising the more formatted adaptations. “So we saw a level of the children and youth films of other countries,” considerable drop in original stories for Boonekamp underlines. children and youth. This has always been one of the strongest angles of the Dutch “This is, for us, what co-production is all about. It is not film industry and it needed to be brought just a matter of exchanging money. It is very much an back to life.” exchange of knowledge and creativeness too and, through collaboration, to grow the level of films as a whole, not “I think some six years ago 10% of Dutch just here in the Netherlands but across Europe and hopefully beyond,” she concludes. “Another benefit is the successful export of Dutch production and creative talent” films were internationally co-produced while now it is nearly 70%, so we are very happy for international partners to attach to these films that we develop and produce within this scheme,” she adds. “And we continue our collaboration with Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung so we will not only be developing youth film projects with the professionals in the Netherlands but will collaborate with German producers Mr. Frog (p16) 6 7 Selected releases Selected releases Storm Letter of Fire The Day My Father Became A Bush Original title: Storm Letters Van Vuur Original title: Toen mijn vader een struik werd Antwerp 1521. Storm (12), the son of a book printer, becomes the object of a hunt for an important When Toda’s dad is called away unexpectedly to defend his country, Toda undertakes letter by Martin Luther, during which his father is arrested.