\u201cFrom colonial histories and diaspora stories to bold new voices in Dutch filmmaking, the festival invites audiences into difficult dialogue while celebrating outstanding Dutch cinema,\u201d DutchBC co-director Irwin Oostindie said in a news release announcing the festival.<\/p>\n
Following an opening ceremony at the Cinematheque at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 27, the festival will screen Paul Verhoeven\u2019s classic 1977 film, Soldier of Orange<\/a>. Starring Dutch actors Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabb\u00e9, it revolves around students resisting the Nazi occupation of their country during the Second World War.<\/p>\n The following day on March 28, the festival will present Mercedes Stalenhoef\u2019s I Shall See<\/a> at 7:30 p.m. at DutchBC Studio (475 Main Street #212 on Main at Pender Street).\u00a0It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. It follows a boatman who brings essential cargo to Indigenous people and Maroons.<\/p>\n Maroons descended from enslaved Africans who escaped Dutch plantations. They\u00a0inhabit the rainforest of Suriname, a former Dutch colony that gained independence in 1975.<\/p>\n Following the screening of Monikondee, the festival will host a discussion with the Suriname and Dutch directors via Zoom.<\/p>\n Then at 3 p.m., the festival will present the romantic comedy Bed & Breakfast<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The next evening at 7 p.m., writer-director Aaron Rookus\u2019s feature film, Idyllic<\/a>, 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\u2019s opera singer sister receives a surprising medical diagnosis.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Watch the trailer for Idyllic.<\/p>\n Film focuses on adoption of Indonesian kids<\/p>\n The festival will present five more films at SFU Vancouver\u2019s Labatt Hall (Room 1700) on Saturday, April 25, including \u201cChild of Their Time<\/a>\u201d. Huibert van Wilk\u2019s 55-minute documentary looks at the legacy of Dutch adoption of Indonesian children.<\/p>\n It\u2019s paired with \u201cObject Reconnaissance<\/a>\u201d, a 29-minute docudrama directed by Stefanos Tsivopoulos. It\u2019s about a woman\u2019s 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\u2019s lengthy dictatorship.<\/p>\n The Netherlands has a complicated relationship with Indonesia, formerly known as the Dutch East Indies.<\/p>\n One of the three other Saturday films is also a documentary. Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan\u2019s Episode of the Sea<\/a> is about fishermen who adapted to the draining of their inland sea by pursuing their livelihood on new fishing grounds.<\/p>\n That day, the festival will also screen Jan-Willem van Ewijk\u2019s outdoor-adventure feature Alpha<\/a>. The final Saturday film, Sven Bresser\u2019s Reedland<\/a>, was the Dutch submission to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. It\u2019s about a reed cutter who discovers the body of a girl on his land.<\/p>\n On Sunday, April 26, the festival concludes with a film about soccer and friendship. All Stars<\/a>\u00a0will be screened at Container Brewing Company at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Watch the trailer for \u201cObject Reconnaissance\u201d.<\/p>\n For more information about the Dutch Film Festival, visit the website<\/a>. Follow\u00a0Pancouver<\/a>\u00a0on X\u00a0@PancouverMedia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@PancouverMedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t![\"Dutch](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Monikondee-1.jpg\")
Monikondee sheds light on Maroons, who are descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped Dutch plantations.
\nDutch rom-com set in\u00a0Groningen village<\/p>\n