Christmas is a time of getting together. Of fun and love. A time of Santa Claus and shopping for decorations. In the run-up to their annual Christmas dinner, we follow several family members in their separate failing attempts to be a good person.
Gerrie, Richard, Rikkert, Robbie and Barry from Maaskantje are in a big fight with the village of Schijndel. When a zombie kills someone from Brabant, things get out of hand.
A troubled teenager attempts to conquer the girl he's in love with, who seems out of reach. He's lured into criminal activities and becomes alienated from family and friends.
Five friends from 'Maaskantje' are getting fired because of the economic crisis. They decide that they won't pay for anything anymore.
Roya, a refugee from Iran who has exhausted all legal remedies, flees her asylum seekers’ center to avoid being sent back to Iran. With an address in her pocket, she hopes to stay with Nassim, who assists rejected refugees. Nassim, however, claims to be unable to open the door. Having nowhere else to go, Roya is determined to stay. Slowly but surely, a conversation develops between the two. Marked by their past as refugees, they are both looking for a way out. They could be each other’s salvation, but a closed door stands between them. They get to know each other through the closed door, and so two life stories with one fate are unveiled.
Pak Mokum Terug is the name of a group of Amsterdam activists that refuse to accept that the basic right to housing no longer appears to apply. The group’s name means “Take Back Amsterdam,” Mokum being the traditional nickname for a capital city in which today, for more and more people, a home is becoming unaffordable. Against this background, Hotel Mokum reports on the squatting of a dilapidated hotel in the city center, narrated in the voice of a fictitious activist.
'Cargo' brings the raw story of three brothers who own a family business in the fishery and are trying to save it from destruction. The passion for their profession but also for their loved ones, however, drives them to desperate actions.
Do we need animals to fill the void that should really be filled by people? To what extent do we project our own deprivation and longing on these sweet pets? All the protagonists in this documentary are indirectly afraid of being rejected and find safety and unconditional love in their animal(s). We observe these relationships and follow them in their steps to overcome their anxieties and insecurities and step into the world of humans more.
Due to a new bridge, the skipper of a ferryboat is suddenly without passengers. A coot looking for stuff for its nest provides a solution.
Is our life a story? And if so, can we re-write it? In Drama Girl, director Vincent Boy Kars gets a young woman to act out a number of key scenes from her recent past. Perhaps, Kars thinks, this could help her come to terms with certain events. In the meantime, he also gains something: a film that probes how fiction and documentary can learn from one another.
(Short) Nine year old Soufyane, son of a Moroccan father and Dutch mother, lives in an apartment with his mother and sister in a typical big city high-rise estate. His father, whom he never sees, invites him on a journey. A journey to the country of his ancestors Morocco. Soufyane is thrilled and prepares for the trip fastidiously, as it is also a kind of initiation. His friends insist that he should get a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, but Soufyane would rather wear Marc Jacobs. But doesn't he want to be a soldier, they ask. He remains silent and doesn't let himself be swayed. Among the various blackmarket dealers in his neighbourhood he eventually finds someone who has the right glasses. Instead of 200 he only has to pay 30, and he's ready to go.
A psychological quest for the motivation and character traits of goalkeepers: a young goalkeeper from Terschelling during his toughest game ever, the oldest goalkeeper in the Netherlands who keeps diving, a goalkeeper from the Eredivisie Women, and the former goalkeeper of the Syrian national team. Goalkeeper and football journalist Sjoerd Mossou teaches us that goalkeeper gloves can come out 'different' every time and commentator (and former goalkeeper) Leo Oldenburger explains why goalkeepers look so much like firefighters.
Pasquale, an old crook who lost his fortune to gambling, organizes his last big heist and reunites The Wolves, a gang of North-Italian fairground operators who moonlight as thieves. The robbery of a money truck - transporting 12 million euros in cash - could be a good pension for everybody, and secure the legacy of their old-school craftsmanship.
Documentary about Yab Yum, once the most famous brothel in Amsterdam. It has been closed years ago because it was being used more and more for criminal activities.
When Sabaku’s best friend Buffalo passes away, he needs to find himself a new friend.
A garden centre employee just cannot get his girlfriend pregnant. With his partner's biological clock ticking, he must swallow his pride and embrace a solution.
A rich and extravagant Scottish Baron spends his time on outrageous cruise ships amongst romantic couples, wealthy families, hardworking staff and retired elderly. A floating micro-society appealing to some, revolting to others.
The film uses the oyster and its sensual and lavish associations as a symbol to explore human drives and desires. The oyster takes us on a trip around the world, in which protagonists that all have their own special relationship to the oyster share their ambitions, desires and existential fears. This cinematic documentary explores the intricate nature of our deepest yearnings and quest for self-fulfillment.
We don't talk is an intriguing documentary of in-depth conversations between therapists and youngsters who are entangled in the complex network of sexual violence and exploitation.
Filmmaker Sophie Dros enters into a dialogue with strong women in a powerfull document about being a woman in the Netherlands today. Inspired by Simone de Beauvoir's essay The second sex, filmmaker Sophie Dros (winner of the NFF Debut Competition 2017) talks to four women and a group of young girls. Together they go in search of universal stories; about dealing with expectations, empathy and connection, desires, fear, need for confirmation and losing control.
