03/10/2011

The Dutch national film awards, the Golden Calves, were handed out on Friday night in Utrecht, where the Netherlands Film Festival came to an end. The English-language, South Africa-set drama Black Butterflies [+see also:
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film profile] won the ceremony’s top prize, Best Film, as well as Best Actress for Carice van Houten, who now has an unprecedented five Golden Calves to her name.

The film, which recounts the life of Afrikaans-language poetess Ingrid Jonker (Verhouten), was directed by Paula van der Oest, a Best Director nominee. It took home a third Calf in the Best Editing category.

The Best Director race was won by Nanouk Leopold, who also won the Best Screenplay award for her feature Brownian Movement [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. The third nominee, Will Koopman, was also a woman, though many had expected to see this place go to Urszula Antoniak (interview) for her harrowing, Cannes-selected drama Code Blue [+see also:
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film profile].

Koopman directed successful female comedy Vipers Nest, which finally went home with honours in the Best Supporting Actress and Actor categories, though the winner of the latter, Pieter Paul Muller, refused to pick up his award, suggesting, via his director, that they’d donate it to a petting zoo.

Code Blue was honoured with wins in the Camera and Sound categories.

The independently produced road movie Rabat [+see also:
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film profile] had a surprisingly strong presence when the nominations were announced, even finding itself in the Best Film category alongside Butterflies and Movement.

It finally took home the Best Actor Golden Calf for Moroccan-Dutch Nasrdin Dchar, who delivered the most memorable speech of all winners, suggesting his win as Dutch Actor of the Year was something of a middle finger to all xenophobic politicians who suggest integration has failed.

The festival’s youth and the audience award went to Joost van Ginkel’s drama 170 Hz [+see also:
trailer
film profile], about two deaf youngsters in love. One of the few true premieres in Utrecht, Cinéart plans on a spring 2012 release.