29/10/2009

Two films received funding from the Dutch Film Fund this month. Mainstream comedy-drama Pizzamaffia from director Tim Oliehoek was awarded €350,000, while arthouse feature Johan 1 received €500,000.

Pizzamaffia is the adaptation of a novel by popular local writer Khalid Boudou. Martin Koolhoven’s 2005 adaptation of one of Boudou’s previous novels, Schnitzel Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Khoolhoven
interview: Mimoun Oaïssa
film profile], was the most-visited Dutch film of that year, grossing almost €2.5m.

The latest film of Oliehoek, who has carved something a niche for himself in the action-comedy genre in the Low Countries, was Spy of Orange. The spy spoof was released last February and went on to become the biggest local hit of the first half of 2009.

The adaptation of Pizzamaffia was written by Simon de Waal and Luuk van Bemmelen and recounts the story of a teen of Moroccan origin, Brahim, who gets involved in a family feud between his pizza-baking uncle and father. The film is produced by IDTV Film and has already gone into production.

The protagonist of director Johan Kramer’s feature Johan 1 is also called Johan. He’s a 42-year-old football fanatic who drives in circles around the stadium of FC Barcelona every day because he believes that will keep the team from losing. His monotonous and lonely life changes when gets to know a local woman, Paquita.

The Pupkin Film production received backing from the Buddhist Broadcasting Organisation and will be released by Independent Films in the spring.