27/07/2023 - In the second round of the incentive, contributions were made to 12 fiction features, nine documentaries, three drama series and one documentary series; 13 of these are international co-productions

Director Will Koopman, who has received €845,809 in funding for her drama series Patty

Last week, the Netherlands Film Fund announced the recipients of funding in the second round of its 2023 Film Production Incentive. The institution will invest a total of €6.9 million in 26 new projects, set to generate over €24.6 million in production expenses in the Netherlands across the entire spectrum of Dutch film professionals and film companies. On this occasion, 12 fiction features, nine documentaries, three drama series and one documentary series, including 13 international co-productions, have received the body’s production bursaries.

The grant of the biggest magnitude (€845,809) went to the drama series Patty, penned and directed by Will Koopman. Staged by Blooming Film & TV, the show is about the rise, fall, and even deeper fall, of Holland’s most famous showbiz diva. It promises to be “a series full of drama, humour and music with the message that there is always a second (or third) chance, as long as you stay close to yourself, and don’t care about the rest”.

The other three high-end series in receipt of grants are Simone van Dusseldorp’s drama show Don’t Fall, Dance (€677,697, produced by Big Blue Productions), Frank van Passel and Jonas van Geel’s drama series Moresnet (€575,345, produced by Pupkin Films with Belgium’s Caviar Antwerp, Germany’s Flare Film and Belgium’s Lompvis), and Piet de Blaauw and Jan Pieter Tuinstra’s doc series Sobibor – Escape from History (€196,182, a Submarine Productions presentation).

Among the backed features, writer-director Bobbie Koek’s Paradise received the largest award (€515,000). Produced by Dutch outfit Doxy and co-produced by Belgium’s A Private View, the project’s synopsis reads as follows: “On the day his girlfriend leaves their baby with him, Noah (16) is thrown into adulthood in one fell swoop. In full denial, he gets on his motorbike to take their son back to her. But his driving away to get loose gradually becomes a journey to connection.”

Four more projects received more than €400,000 each – namely, Peter Hoogendoorn’s Three Days of Fish (€481,180, produced by Circe Films, together with A Private View and Kaap Holland Film), Karin Junger’s The Favourite (€403,437, produced by The Film Kitchen, and co-produced by Belgian firms Polar Bear and Krater Films), Aaron Rookus’ The Idyll (€430,014, produced by Studio Ruba, and co-produced by Polar Bear and Estonian outfit Allfilm) and Dylan Haegens’ Superpowers For Your Mind (€475,081 staged by NewBe).

Finally, the remaining fiction and non-fiction features that have been supported include Peter Krüger’s The Age of Magic (€167,694, produced by Belgium’s Savage Film, and co-produced by Dutch outfit The Film Kitchen, Switzerland’s Cineworx Filmproduktion and Belgium’s Intifilms), Halfdan Tøndel’s Armand (€94,582, led by Norway’s Eye Eye Pictures, and co-produced by Keplerfilm in the Netherlands, One Two Films in Germany and Prolaps Produktion in Sweden), Pim van Hoeve’s Buenas Chicas (€301,000, produced by 2CFILM), Miriam Guttmann’s Front Row (€181,785, a Totem Media presentation), Kasper Verkaik’s The Goddess of Flaminio (€133,957, produced by Eric Velthuis in the Netherlands and co-produced by France’s Les Films d'Ici), Niels van Koevorden’s How Long? (€120,000, produced by Een van de Jongens), Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich’s Indo-Dutch in the Netherlands (€90,919, produced by Scarabee Culturele Projecten), Marc Schmidt’s The Insatiables (€101,007, produced by Doxy), Tom van Gestel’s Juul (€139,984, a production spearheaded by Belgium’s Fabrique Fantastique, and co-produced by Keplerfilm, Germany’s Mideu Films and Mark 13, Spain’s Mr Miyagi and France’s Will Production), Willy Lindwer’s Lost City (€73,024, produced by Staccato Films Netherlands together with No Fear), Christina Vandekerckhove’s Milano (€75,454, produced by Belgium’s Lunanime with Belgian studio Dragons Films and Dutch outfit Bastide Films), Petra Lataster-Czisch’s The New World (€122,397, an L&F Producties production), Cecilia Verheyden’s Skiff (€103,950, produced by Mirage Films, and co-produced by Lemming Film in the Netherlands and Belgian outfits Les Films du Fleuve and Prime Time), John Skoog’s Värn (€85,643, produced by Sweden’s Plattform Produktion, and co-produced by Lemming Film, Denmark’s Paloma Productions, Finland’s Bufo Films and Poland’s Madants), Pieter van Huystee’s When I Close My Eyes [+see also:
film review
film profile] (€97,074, produced by Tomtit Film and co-produced by Pieter van Huystee Film), Jamel Aattache’s Wholebread 2 (€305,000, produced by Talent United with Brabant Films) and Claire Pijman’s A Woman Like Monique (€121,228, a Moondocs presentation).