16/09/2011

Dutch director Lodewijk Crijns (pictured) began filming his adaptation of Robert Vuijsje’s much-discussed debut novel, Alleen maar nette mensen earlier this month in Amsterdam.

The book, from 2008, tells the story of a 21-year-old man, David, who comes from a chic and intellectual Jewish family who live in the more upscale part of the Dutch capital (which “only good people” call home, as the title of the novel suggests).

But David’s dark appearance often results in him being mistaken for a Moroccan, which is not exactly the kind of inhabitants the Oud-Zuid neighbourhood welcomes. And this is only the beginning of a search of sorts for David’s own identity, which needs to be addressed once more after he breaks up with his long-time girlfriend.

David decides to go to the working-class neighbourhoods and find himself a voluptuous black mistress, who, however, will also need to be able to satisfy his intellectual needs.

The novel, which won two important local literary awards when it was first published, investigates Dutch multicultural society in a way that’s both extremely irreverent and deep-pronging, and was pretty divisive when it was originally published.

Crijns has cast Dutch veteran actors Jeroen Krabbé and Annet Malherbe as David’s parents, while sticking to Netherlands film royalty by casting young actor Geza Weisz, son of revered director Frans Weisz, as David. Imanelle Grives, Belinda van der Stoep and Sigrid ten Napel also star.

Filming will continue through mid-October for the IDTV Film production, made in co-production with broadcaster BNN and backing from the Netherlands Film Fund, the CoBO-fonds and the Suppletieregeling Film Investeringen.

Wild Bunch Distribution will release the film March 1, 2012.