Netherlands Film Production Incentive invests € 6.7 million in 14 new productions and 5 high-end tv-series
One of the granted projects is feature film The Woodcutter Story by director Mikko Myllylahti and produced by Keplerfilm. The film tells the story of a kind and optimistic woodcutter who keeps believing in hope even when his mother dies, his wife leaves him, his best friend commits suicide and his house burns down.
These contributions will generate more than € 25.9 million in production expenses in the Netherlands across the entire spectrum of Dutch film professionals and film companies.
All projects backed by the Netherlands Film Production Incentive in the third round of 2020 are:
Chicken Boy (feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 55,730
Director: Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson (IS)
Script: Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson (IS)
Dutch co-producer: Bastide Films
Lead producer: Join Motion Pictures (IS)
Co-producers: Motor Productions (DK), Hobab (SE), Negativ Film Productions (CZ)
Logline: A teenage boy, raised by a self-claimed psychic mother, takes a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. As the boys’ troubles escalate to life-threatening situations, an inner voice awakes in the boy and, with the help of his mother and his new friend, he manages to find his own path.
An Eel’s Journey (documentary) has been granted a financial contribution of
€ 101,606
Director: Hans Dortmans
Script: Hans Dortmans
Dutch producer: DOXY
Logline: Can the endangered eel be saved from extinction if researchers are able to unravel the ancient mystery of its reproduction? Or is it precisely this human need to control nature that threatens the survival of this fish?
I Am Zlatan (feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 130,252
Director: Jens Sjögren (SE)
Script: David Lagercrantz, Jakob Beckman (SE)
Dutch co-producer: Keplerfilm
Lead producer: B-reel films (SE)
Logline: ”I am Zlatan” is the amazing story of Zlatan and his unlikely journey out from Rosengard, via downtown Malmö, to become one of the greatest football players in the world. It's a movie about life in the projects, the love of your roots and of football, and about the kid who decides to live out his dreams and shape his own personality.
If Only She Knew (feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 277,667
Director: Jamel Aattache
Script: René Molenaar
Dutch producer: Greenfield Film Productions
Co-producer: Brabant Films (NL)
Logline: 'If Only She Knew' is a magical feel-good film about an unorthodox young woman who opens up her own flower shop purely on intuition and meets the man she has - literally - always dreamed of. She does everything she can to make her shop a success and to ensure that the man of her dreams becomes her man in real life. But then a new dream man presents itself. Who is the one?
The Invisibles (documentary) has been granted a financial contribution of € 112,786
Director: Martijn Blekendaal
Script: Martijn Blekendaal
Dutch producer: Harlem District
Co-producer: Associate Directors (BE)
Logline: The Invisibles is a feature-length youth documentary about children who have been forced to develop the ability to go through life unseen and unnoticed. The film tells the story of a filmmaker who records the tales of their inventive invisibility in an attempt to bring his own superhero to life.
Me & My Pet (documentary) has been granted a financial contribution of € 77,981
Director: Johan Kramer
Script: Johan Kramer
Dutch producer: Halal Docs
Logline: A nuanced and at times tragicomical psychological film about people and their pets. Do we need pets to fill up a gap that actually should have been filled by other humans? This film takes us on a visual journey through very different households, where various owners dedicate their lives to their pets.
A Museum In Turmoil (documentary) has been granted a financial contribution of € 96,404
Director: Sarah Vos
Script: Sarah Vos
Dutch producer: Zeppers Film & TV
Logline: Documentary by Sarah Vos, in which the Stedelijk Museum and its new director Rein Wolfs are looking for new ways to operate in an era with all of its challenges.
"The Big Slime Movie 2"(feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 194,208
Director: Martijn Smits
Script: Maarten van den Broek, Eveline Hagenbeek
Dutch producer: NewBe TV
Logline: One of slimevlogger Indy’s former fans, Benji (14), is out to destroy her. With help of his stepmother he steals her latest slimerecipe and pretends it is his. Indy has to convince the world she is the real creator of OctoGlow, clear her name and win back her fans.
Pax Neerlandica (documentary) has been granted a financial contribution of € 118,289
Director: Daan Veldhuizen
Script: Daan Veldhuizen
Dutch producer: Witfilm
Logline: Pax Neerlandica recounts the colonial past of the Papuans in Netherlands New Guinea, exposing as it does so the bitter legacy of all former colonizing countries. Unique archive material from this neglected colonial era is juxtaposed with West Papua's current struggle for independence from the Indonesian occupiers.
Piece of my Heart (feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 1,012,604
Director: Dana Nechushtan
Script: Roos Ouwehand
Dutch producer: Topkapi Films
Co-producers: Eyeworks Film & TV Drama (BE), Triangle Film (NL)
Logline: During the roaring 70’s, the disciplined Irma has to witness how her insanely talented friend Olga becomes a victim of anorexia nervosa, alcohol and drugs. Heartened by the power of their friendship, she finally realizes she has to grant Olga the freedom to live and die in her own way.
Reply to a Letter from Helga (feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 56,000
Director: Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir (IS)
Script: Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir (IS)
Dutch co-producer: Rotterdam Films
Lead producer: ZikZak Filmworks (IS)
Co-producer: All Film (EE)
Logline: An aging farmer writes a letter to his lover, the woman he could have followed to the city decades before. Did he do the right thing in chosing his wife and country over love, or did he thereby betray his own heart?
Reproduction Prohibited (documentary) has been granted a financial contribution of € 194,448
Director: In-Soo Radstake
Script: Nadadja Kemper
Dutch producer: Holland Harbour Productions
Logline: This project investigates how the Dutch government tried to frame the narrative of its actions during the 'Politionele Acties' and how she subsequently lost her grip on this history.
Splendid Isolation (feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 175,744
Director: Urszula Antoniak
Script: Urszula Antoniak
Dutch producer: Family Affair Films
Logline: Autistic Hannah and her guardian Anna are lovers who keep physical distance since Hannah contracted the virus. Their splendid isolation on an island is disrupted by Tom, who is immune. He can come closer to both women and in fact does, when he forms his opinion about their relationship.
The Woodcutter Story (feature film) has been granted a financial contribution of € 64,234
Director: Mikko Myllylahti (FI)
Script: Mikko Myllylahti (FI)
Dutch co-producer: Keplerfilm
Lead producer: Aamu Film Company (FI)
Co-producer: Beofilm (DK)
Logline: A kind and optimistic woodcutter from Northern Finland believes in hope – even when his mother dies, his wife leaves him, his best friend commits suicide and his house burns down.
High-end TV-series:
Bestseller Boy (drama series) has been granted a financial contribution of € 1,343,737
Director: Norbert ter Hall
Script: Robert Alberdingk Thijm, Mano Bouzamour
Episodes: 8 x 40-45 minutes
Dutch producer: Willy Waltz International
Co-producer: CBS Studios (NL)
Logline: When his debut novel is released, Momo Zebbi is kicked out of the house by his Moroccan parents. In literature he finds a new home.
Fortuyn: Un-Dutch (documentary series) has been granted a financial contribution of € 318,158
Director: Menna Laura Meijer
Script: Menna Laura Meijer
Episodes: 5 x 50 minutes
Dutch producer: mint film office
Logline: In the documentary series Fortuyn: Un-Dutch, people with a bicultural background tell how the Fortuyn revolt has influenced their lives and position in the Netherlands.
The Golden Hour (drama series) has been granted a financial contribution of € 873,098
Director: Tim Oliehoek
Script: Simon de Waal
Episodes: 6 x 50 minutes
Dutch producer: NL Film & TV
Logline: The Golden Hour is a term from counter-terrorism: the hour that begins in the second of an attack, in which panic and fear are overwhelming and the danger of a second attack is greatest. It is the hour that brings out the best and the worst in people. The hour of life or death.
Lampie and the Children of the Sea (drama series) has been granted a financial contribution of € 1,062,963
Director: Margien Rogaar
Script: Mieke de Jong
Episodes: 4 x 40 minutes
Dutch producer: Pupkin Film
Logline: On a stormy night, everything goes wrong. A ship breaks down on the rocks and the lighthouse keeper and his daughter Lampie are separated. It is the beginning of an adventure in which Lampie shows that she can do more than she ever imagined. With the help of a mermaid, pirates, and the friendship of a boy who is also a fish, she does everything she can to find her father.
Zenith 2 (drama series) has been granted a financial contribution of € 466,843
Director: Joost van Hezik
Script: Philip Delmaar, Lotte Tabbers
Episodes: 8 x 25 minutes
Dutch producer: Lemming Film
Logline: When misfits Zoë and Max uncover the truth about a shut down robot factory, they themselves become a target and must do everything they can to bring the truth to light. A quest that not only puts their friendship to the test, but also challenges everything they think they know about themselves…