Eight minority co-productions with Dutch share receive grant

Eight international productions with a Dutch share have been selected for a grant. Two of the selected projects are co-operations between the Netherlands Film Fund and the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF).

The Netherlands Film Fund and the Flanders Audiovisual Fund collaboratively support co-productions that are released in both countries. This round features a feature film and a documentary. Six other international co-productions with a Dutch share have been selected for a grant from the Film Fund. Read the full list below:

In collaboration with the Flanders Audiovisual Fund

Strokes of Madness (feature film)

Direction: Lander Haverals & Dominique van Malder
Screenplay: Lander Haverals
Producer: Menuetto Film (BE)
Co-producers: Volya Films B.V. (NL), De Chinezen (BE)

Logline: In the ruthless metropolis, a talented yet emotionally vulnerable violinist's relentless pursuit of musical excellence spirals into a terrifying battle with his inner demons.

Granted support: € 200,000

The Apologist (documentary)

Direction/screenplay: Kristof Bilsen
Producer: Limerick Films BVBA (BE)
Co-producers: Tangerine Tree B.V. (NL), Wrong Men North (BE), Warboy Films (FR)

Logline: The Apologist is a documentary that explores the complexities of apologies. Every time an apology is said, something changes. Is this act that we repeat over and over in our private lives and in the public arena a ritual that can really help us? Can apologies heal deep-seated wounds?

Granted support: € 50,000

Minority co-productions

Like a Beast (short animation)

Direction/screenplay: Bruno Tondeur
Producer: Take Five (BE)
Co-producers: Valk Productions (NL), Autour de Minuit (FR)

Logline: In a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by human folly, a few survivors wander the ruins of the Old World, desperately seeking electricity to power their last lifeline: their smartphones.

Granted support: € 50,000

Can't Leave it Like This (documentary)

Direction/screenplay: Helena Maksyom
Producer: Pirvu A. Adrian PFA (RO)
Co-producers: EVDJ B.V. (NL), Perennial Lens GmbH (DE), Jeanne Dohvych (UA)

Logline: When Ukrainian filmmaker Helena Maksyom experiences the brutality of the Russian full-scale invasion firsthand, she feels she has no choice but to take up arms and join the military. While she watches her friends fight to keep their sanity, she keeps filming. It is her attempt to not lose humanity.

Granted support: € 70,000

275 Million Births and Deaths (research & experiment)

Direction/screenplay: Zam Zadeh
Producer: Timescapes BV (Cassette for Timescapes) (BE)
Co-producers: Studio Biarritz B.V. (NL), Reynard Films GmbH (DE)

Logline: Is life worth passing on? Do I want to be a mother in today’s world? In 275 Million Births and Deaths - a poetic VR with stop motion - Zam invites the audience to explore our notions of love, happiness and doubt.

Granted support: € 50,000

The Life Beneath Our Feet (research & experiment)

Direction/screenplay: Thom M. Vander Beken
Producer: Quetzalcoatl (BE)
Co-producer: Valk Productions B.V. (NL)

Logline:The Life Beneath Our Feet is an interactive and multi-sensory Virtual Reality experience that takes the participants deep into the forest. Below the earth’s surface, you become part of a complex network of tree roots and fungi that exchanges not only nutrients but also information.

Granted support: € 50,000

Drawn picture of a man and a dog sitting in the dunes. — Dansker

Dansker (feature film)

Direction/screenplay: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Producer: JaFilm (DK)
Co-producers: Submarine Animation B.V. (NL), Doghouse Films (LU)

Logline: James has fled to Denmark from a dark past of war, loss and trauma in Turkey. His hope is to make a fresh start, lead a decent life and start a family, but the violence of his past follows him and he is slowly drawn into the criminal underworld. James must therefore confront both this violence and his trauma to save the remnants of the family he has left.

Granted support: € 450,000