International coproductions are crucial to the Dutch film industry and have been the focus of the three-year tenure of Sandra den Hamer, director of the Netherlands Film Fund.
“Co-operation is key at all levels,” is her mantra. “We cannot produce a Dutch feature film or documentary without international partners,” she explains.
Den Hamer is thrilled by the success of Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, coproduced by Dutch outfit Lemming Film and supported by the Fund.
She confirms NL Wave, the national cinema showcase launched last autumn in Utrecht to boost international industry interest in Dutch cinema, will hold its second edition from October 1-2.
Under Den Hamer, the Fund has also increased the amount it invests in certain projects with the aim of boosting budgets to give them a better chance of breaking through internationally. She has also put in place measures to reward success.
“If a film is selected for a major international festival or has exceptional public success, we give a bonus to the filmmaker, the producer and the scriptwriter,” she says.
Several Dutch directors are working on English language projects, including Victoria Warmerdam with a feature version of her Oscar -winning short, I’m Not A Robot.
Dutch films are now regularly turning up at A-list festivals. London-based Mees Peijnenburg’s divorce drama A Family is screening in the Generation strand at the Berlinale later this month, while Muriel d’Ansembourg’s Truly Naked, set against the backdrop of the UK porn industry, is screening in Perspectives.
Beyond Berlin, Matunda Groenendijk and Amit Palgi’s VR “poem” Cycle is having its world premiere in SXSW and there are several Dutch titles should be ready for the summer festivals. They include Sander Burger’s Youri, produced by Volya Films, Jaap van Heusden and Vinnie Karetak’s In Alaska from IJswater films, Mari Sanders’ Get Up Stand Up, produced by The Film Kitchen and Michiel ten Horn’s Any Other Night, from One Two Films, Lithium Studios and Lemming Film.
Homegrown features backed by the Fund screening at IFFR include Dutch-Chilean director Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito’s second feature Treat Her Like A Lady, premiering in the Limelight section.
Additionally, Den Hamer has been busy strengthening ties with both the Indonesian industry (the two countires a coproduction agreement in 2024 and den Hamer welcomed an Indonesian delegation to Rotterdam this week) and Dutch producers are working more closely with their Benelux neighbours. The Dutch industry is hosting a party with the Belgian industry in Berlin and will be pooling resources on some promotional activities at both the EFM and in Cannes.
Benelux producers are due to meet at the Ostend Film Festival for a workshop on coproducing.
Box office challenges
Areas of concern remain. The total Dutch box office fell by 14% year on year to €308m in 2025, with 28m tickets sold, 3% less than 2024. The market share of local films also fell slightly, from 17% to 14%.
However, certain Dutch films are breaking through with local audiences. Former Oscar winner Mike Van Diem’s dark family drama For The Girls was the top local film, selling 317,000 tickets, while Amsterdammed II, the latest genre picture from veteran Dutch genre director Dick Maas and being sold at the EFM by Incredible Films, also did strong business at the tail end of last year.
Den Hamer is now preparing to step down from the Fund, with her successor to be unveiled soon. She became interim director in early 2023, as a replacement for Bero Beyer, who had stood down from the post unexpectedly for health reasons.
“I came as a sick leave replacement and when it became clear that Bero would not be returning, I was asked to supervise a new policy plan and transition,” she says.
She is proud of what she has achieved in the three years since and says she is leaving the Fund in an optimistic frame of mind. As for her next steps, she says: ”I don’t have any idea. I look forward to whatever new adventures and projects.”
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