A Dutch influence to be felt on the Croisette

by Boyd van Hoeij

12/05/2006 - A meagre selection from the Netherlands this year in the official 2006 Cannes line-up is offset by a strong presence on the market and a total of ten titles that were supported by Rotterdam’s CineMart and Hubert Bals Fund.

The Jaap van Heusden short film A Complicated Story, Simply Told is part of the 2006 Cinéfondation selection, and, like last year, the Dutch Filmmuseum will present a hitherto unknown copy of a film thought lost in the Classics section: Julien Duvivier’s 1927 adventure Le mystère de la tour Eiffel. Singer-composer Fay Lovsky has written a new score for the film.

Market screenings are foreseen for Bonkers [trailer] and Schnitzel Paradise [trailer, film focus] (see Focus), two 2005 titles from Martin Koolhoven that were produced by Leontine Petit of Lemming Film, who is the Dutch Producer on the Move. Other market showings include Figner, the End of a Silent Century from Nathalie Alonso Casale, Live! from the late Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen, the children’s films Zoo Rangers in Africa, The Horror Bus and Winky’s Horse (which all had over 100,000 viewers in their theatrical runs) as well as the Rotterdam Competition drama Northern Light [trailer, film focus] (see Focus).

Two revered development initiatives of the Rotterdam Film Festival, CineMart and the Hubert Bals Fund, can claim a total of ten titles on the Croisette, including the Official Competition entries Iklimer [trailer] (Hubert Bals Fund) and Summer Palace (CineMart 2004). The Un certain regard titles with a Rotterdam connection are Taxidermia [trailer], Suburban Mayhem (both CineMart 2004) and Hamaca Paraguaya, winner of the Prince Claus Grant for Best CineMart Project in 2005. Julia Loktev’s Day Night Day Night [trailer], a Director’s Fortnight entry, is also a CineMart alumnus. Four titles are part of L’atelier du festival, including the 2006 CineMart projects from Ilya Khrzhanovsky and Wang Bing.