For a country known for wholeheartedly consuming cinema from abroad, the Netherlands has never been great at celebrating their own Dutch filmmakers and their films. With the re-release of George Sluizer’s Spoorloos, one of the greatest Dutch films ever made, we explore what holds us back from recognizing the great directors of our small nation. Could the prevalence of lousy vacation romcoms in our cinemas indicate a sense of cultural insecurity? And how are the next wave of Dutch filmmakers responding to the cringe we feel about our language? Find out why it’s about time we celebrated films from this tiny postage stamp we call home.

Book tickets to Spoorloos @ LAB111

Show notes

• These films will make you appreciate Dutch cinema | Casey Kilmore
• Stories of The Netherlands – An Introduction to Dutch Cinema | Like Stories of Old
• Canon der Godverdommes | Tom Ook

Films mentioned

(click on the links for tickets to screenings at LAB111)

• Spoorloos (George Sluizer, 1988)
• Fucking Åmål (Lukas Moodysson, 1998)
• Nederwiet (Maaik Krijgsman & Hans Pool, 2011)
• My Own Private Idaho (Gus van Sant, 1991)
• John Wick (Chad Stahelski, 2014)
• Constantine (Francis Lawernece, 2005)
• The Fall Guy (David Leitch, 2014)
• The Story of Film: An Odyssey (Mark Cousins, 2011)
• Het Gangstermeisje (Frans Weisz, 1966)
• Turks Fruit (Paul Verhoeven, 1973)
• Soldaat van Oranje (Paul Verhoeven, 1977)
• Bankier van het Verzet (Joram Lürsen, 2018)
• Zwarteboek (Paul Verhoeven, 2006)
• Sweet Dreams (Ena Sendijarević, 2023)
• Nocturne (Viktor van de Valk, 2019)
• Hardcore Never Dies (Jim Taihuttu, 2023)
• Nr. 10 (Alex van Warmerdam, 2021)

Our hosts