Van Kooten and Van Houten ready for a new Family

by Boyd van Hoeij

13/07/2012 - The biggest Dutch hit of 2007, with almost 1.4m tickets sold, was the romantic comedy Love is All [trailer], a film that followed many different characters in the period leading up the winter holidays, leading critics to compare it to Love Actually.

Directed by Joram Lürsen, the film was the brainchild of actress-turned-screenwriter Kim van Kooten, whose witty, insightful, dramatically coherent and, above all, never schmaltzy screenplay was one of the main reasons the film was a critical as well as an audience hit.

The fact that many famous faces popped up, including Dutch star actress Carice van Houten, then hot off her success of Paul Verhoeven's Blackbook, didn't hurt box-office prospects either.

It is no surprise then, that Van Kooten, Van Houten and Lürsen (photo) have teamed up for a new project in a similar vein, called Alles is familie (Family is All). The film will again be a sprawling romantic comedy, this time centred on the problems of one extended family, with each member facing critical choices.

Van Houten will play Winnie, a woman who wants to have a baby. Her husband, Rutmer (Thijs Römer) wants to get in touch with his own feelings, Rutmer's brother (Benja Bruijning) doesn't want any responsibilities and their brother-in-law (Jacob Derwig) longs for his late wife. Paterfamilias Arend (Kees Hulst) simply wants to be happy, while his wife, Jeanette (Martine Bijl), simply wants someone to want her.

The cast also includes Tjitske Reiding, Michiel Romeyn, Remco Vrijdag, Georgina Verbaan, Willeke Alberti, Kees van Kooten and the screenwriter.

Like their first success, the film will be produced by Frans van Gestel, for his new outfit Topkapi Films. Broadcaster VARA co-produces. A-Film Distribution will release the picture in November.