PRODUCTION Netherlands
Black Out hits Dutch screens in January
by Boyd Van Hoeij
01/12/2011 - It has been a strong year for Dutch films so far. Local titles currently doing big business include Reinout Oerlemans’ Nova Zembla [trailer], the first Dutch film shot in 3D, about the historical seafaring in 1596 to find a passage to India via the North Pole, and The Heineken Kidnapping from Maarten Treurniet, based on the famous kidnapping of the beer mogul in the 1980s.
And one of the year’s biggest titles, the comedy New Kids: Nitro! [trailer], is yet to open. The sequel to the hugely successful New Kids: Turbo [trailer] from last year will go out via Benelux film Distributors Netherlands (BFD) on December 6.
But local productions are already waiting in the wings for releases early in the new year. One of the most interesting titles is without a doubt the genre film Black Out [trailer], from director Arne Toonen (pictured), whose previous film, the children’s book adaptation Dik Trom [trailer] was a big hit last year.
Black Out tells the story of a former criminal who wakes up on the day before his marriage with a gun in his hand and an unrecognisable corpse next to him. On top of that, he is accused of stealing 20 kilos of cocaine. To make matters even worse, he only has 24 hours to solve his problems because he is getting married the next.
The film was written by screenwriter Melle Runderkamp, who co-wrote the TV series spin-off of Schnitzel Paradise. Cinematography is in the hands of Jeroen de Bruin, while Alfred Schaaf has signed up for production design.
The film is described as an action comedy and stars Raymond Thiry (Winter in Wartime) [trailer]), Katja Schuurman (Interview, May 5) and her sister, singer Birgit Schuurman. Kim van Kooten, Alex van Warmerdam, Ursul de Geer, Robert de Hoog and Renée Fokker co-star.
The film was produced by Hazazah Pictures and Orange, and is co-produced by broadcaster BNN. The CoBO fund and the Ministry of Culture provided financial backing. The film will be released on January 26 by Benelux Film Distributors.
