The Netherlands is a country with contradictions. It has traditionally been a haven for religious tolerance, a beacon of environmental responsibility, and a centre for scientific discoveries and artistic excellence. And yet in its past, Dutch rulers and businesspeople also embraced brutal colonialism and horrific slave-trading.
This year’s Dutch Film Festival in Vancouver will look at many facets of the kingdom’s identity through documentary, comedic, and dramatic films.
“From colonial histories and diaspora stories to bold new voices in Dutch filmmaking, the festival invites audiences into difficult dialogue while celebrating outstanding Dutch cinema,” DutchBC co-director Irwin Oostindie said in a news release announcing the festival.
Following an opening ceremony at the Cinematheque at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 27, the festival will screen Paul Verhoeven’s classic 1977 film, Soldier of Orange. Starring Dutch actors Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé, it revolves around students resisting the Nazi occupation of their country during the Second World War.
The following day on March 28, the festival will present Mercedes Stalenhoef’s I Shall See at 7:30 p.m. at DutchBC Studio (475 Main Street #212 on Main at Pender Street). It’s about a teenage girl named Lot, who is blinded in an accident. Her new disability creates havoc in her life as she struggles to adjust.
Then on Sunday, March 29, the festival moves to Room 7000 of SFU Vancouver for two afternoon screenings. Lonnie van Brummelen, Siebren de Haan, and Tolin Erwin Alexander co-directed the 1 p.m. documentary, Monikondee. It follows a boatman who brings essential cargo to Indigenous people and Maroons.
Maroons descended from enslaved Africans who escaped Dutch plantations. They inhabit the rainforest of Suriname, a former Dutch colony that gained independence in 1975.
Monikondee sheds light on Maroons, who are descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped Dutch plantations.
Dutch rom-com set in Groningen village
Following the screening of Monikondee, the festival will host a discussion with the Suriname and Dutch directors via Zoom.
Then at 3 p.m., the festival will present the romantic comedy Bed & Breakfast. Directed by Ruud Schuurman and set in a Groningen village, this 2024 film is about a workaholic woman named Sarah (Sanne Langelaar). She quits her job and is later persuaded to manage a bed and breakfast.
The final film on that Sunday will be at 7 p.m. at Container Brewing Company (1216 Franklin Street). Eddy Terstall directed and co-wrote Land van Johan, which is set in Amsterdam in 1969. This 2025 feature is about two roommates who fall for the same woman, testing their friendship in a hedonistic era marked by free love.
The Dutch Film Festival resumes in the final weekend of April. On Thursday, April 23, the festival will host a reception called Dutch Design Vancouver at 7 p.m. at Roodenburg Design Studios.
The next evening at 7 p.m., writer-director Aaron Rookus’s feature film, Idyllic, will be screened at DutchBC Studio. Starring Hadewych Minis, Eelco Smits, and Beppie Melissen, this 2025 drama is about a grandmother grappling with end-of-life issues as her 40-something grandson considers re-entering the dating arena. Meanwhile, the grandson’s opera singer sister receives a surprising medical diagnosis.
Watch the trailer for Idyllic.
Film focuses on adoption of Indonesian kids
The festival will present five more films at SFU Vancouver’s Labatt Hall (Room 1700) on Saturday, April 25, including “Child of Their Time”. Huibert van Wilk’s 55-minute documentary looks at the legacy of Dutch adoption of Indonesian children.
It’s paired with “Object Reconnaissance”, a 29-minute docudrama directed by Stefanos Tsivopoulos. It’s about a woman’s quest to find a missing family heirloom. Her grandmother, political activist Merah Muda, fled from Indonesia to the Netherlands during the bloody 1965-66 Indonesian political crisis. That set the stage for Suharto’s lengthy dictatorship.
The Netherlands has a complicated relationship with Indonesia, formerly known as the Dutch East Indies.
One of the three other Saturday films is also a documentary. Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan’s Episode of the Sea is about fishermen who adapted to the draining of their inland sea by pursuing their livelihood on new fishing grounds.
That day, the festival will also screen Jan-Willem van Ewijk’s outdoor-adventure feature Alpha. The final Saturday film, Sven Bresser’s Reedland, was the Dutch submission to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. It’s about a reed cutter who discovers the body of a girl on his land.
On Sunday, April 26, the festival concludes with a film about soccer and friendship. All Stars will be screened at Container Brewing Company at 7 p.m.
Watch the trailer for “Object Reconnaissance”.
For more information about the Dutch Film Festival, visit the website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Instagram @PancouverMedia.