02/10/2017 - Martin Koolhoven’s international debut scooped the Golden Calves for Best Director and Best Feature Film, besides three other wins

The winners of the 2017 edition of the Netherlands Film Festival

Martin Koolhoven’s “Calvinistic western” Brimstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Martin Koolhoven
film profile], starring Kit Harington, Carice van Houten, Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce, has won the Golden Calves for Best Director and Best Feature Film at the 37^th edition of the Netherlands Film Festival, which ran from 20-29 September in Utrecht. The last film to have won both of these awards was Nothing Personal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Urszula Antoniak
interview: Urszula Antoniak
film profile] by Urszula Antoniak in 2009. Back then, a jury consisting of film professionals awarded the Golden Calves to nominees. However, in 2015, the Netherlands Film Festival adopted the Academy model, as used by the Oscars, Baftas, Césars and Lolas. Koolhoven received the Best Director Golden Calf, while his producer Els Vandevorst (of N279 Entertainment) received the Golden Calf for Best Feature Film.

Totally sweeping the awards ceremony, Brimstone also won the Golden Calves for Best Sound Design, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score (by Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL). The only technical Golden Calf not awarded by the 368 members of the Academy to Brimstone went to Sander Vos for his editing of Paula van der Oest’s Tonio [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Despite its well-known international cast, Brimstone secured none of the awards in the acting categories. Marie-Louise Stheins won the Golden Calf for Best Actress in a Supporting Rolein Martijn Maria Smits’ Waldstille [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martijn Maria Smits
film profile]. Nora El Koussour and Mohammed Azaay, respectively, won the Golden Calves for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for their portrayals of Layla and her father in Mijke de Jong’s Muslim radicalisation drama Layla M. [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which is this year’s Oscar submission from the Netherlands. For his portrayal of the titular Bram Fischer, Peter Paul Muller won the Golden Calf for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Also, Bram Fischer screenwriter and director Jean van de Velde won the Best Screenplay Award for his Apartheid courtroom drama. The Golden Calf for Best Long Documentary went to Petra Lataster-Czisch and Peter Lataster’s De kinderen van juf Kiet. 

Since 2015, the Netherlands Film Festival has also hosted a sidebar competition for arthouse and artistic cinema, curated by Dutch film critics Dana Linssen and Jan-Pieter Ekker. The jury of “The Forum of the Directors 2017”, consisting of Gust Van den Berghe, Mijke de Jong and Morgan Knibbe, awarded the VEVAM Fund Prize to Daan Bakker’s Quality Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Daan Bakker
film profile]. The Circle of Dutch Film Journalists awarded the Prize of the Dutch Film Critics 2017 to Geschenk uit de bodem by Paul Cohen and Martijn van Haalen.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 37th Netherlands Film Festival:

Best Long Documentary
De kinderen van juf Kiet – Petra Lataster-Czisch and Peter Lataster (Netherlands)

Best Sound Design
Herman Pieëte - Brimstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Martin Koolhoven
film profile] (Netherlands/France/UK/Sweden/Belgium/Germany)

Best Original Score
Tom Holkenborg - Brimstone

Best Editing
Sander Vos - Tonio [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Netherlands/Belgium)

Best Production Design
Floris Vos - Brimstone

Best Cinematography
Rogier Stoffers - Brimstone

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Marie-Louise Stheins - Waldstille [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martijn Maria Smits
film profile] (Netherlands) 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Mohammed Azaay - Layla M. [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Netherlands/Belgium/Germany/Jordan) 

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nora El Koussour - Layla M.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Peter Paul Muller - Bram Fischer (South Africa/Netherlands) 

Best Screenplay
Jean van de Velde - Bram Fischer

Best Director
Martin Koolhoven - Brimstone

Best Picture
Brimstone - Martin Koolhoven

Best Short Documentary
Snelwegkerk - Elsbeth Fraanje (Netherlands)

Best Short Film
Polska Warrior - Camiel Schouwenaar (Netherlands)

Best Interactive 
Horizon Zero Dawn - Guerrilla Games (Netherlands) 

Golden Calf Audience Award
Mees Kees langs de lijn - Aniëlle Webster (Netherlands)

Golden Calf for Film Culture
Gerard Soeteman

Prize of the Dutch Film Critics 2017
Geschenk uit de bodem - Paul Cohen and Martijn van Haalen (Netherlands)

VEVAM Fund Prize of the Forum of the Directors 2017
Quality Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Daan Bakker
film profile] ­- Daan Bakker (Netherlands/Norway)