Dutch Film Fund director Ryclef Rienstra is resigning after seven years in the post to head up a non-profit fund, the Van den Ende Foundation, launched by retired Endemol co-founder Joop van den Ende.

The foundation aims to support theatre, music, multimedia and other projects which for one reason or another have fallen off the Dutch subsidy radar. Rienstra takes up the new position on February 1, 2001.

Rienstra denied press reports that the fund had a budget of hundreds of millions of Dutch guilders: "It's more likely to be in the region of tens of millions. But if Joop gets excited about something, he could pump more money into it. He's a very passionate, inspiring man who doesn't think in terms of peanuts."

During his tenure at the Film Fund, Rienstra has broadened its policy of funding films from a cultural perspective by strengthening ties with a new generation of producers, public broadcasters and Germany's Filmstiftung NRW film fund. He also appointed Emmy Award-winning writer-director Jean van de Velde to boost the fund's involvement in commercial films, and producer Kees Ryninks to do the same with documentaries.