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FESTIVALS Netherlands

Dutch children’s films in good health

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The local film industry in the Netherlands has always been buoyed by strong features for children and early teens. One of the current box-office hits is Dolfje Weerwolfje [+see also:
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(known in English as Alfie the Werewolf), an adaptation of the popular series of children’s books about a blond and bespectacled boy who discovers, at age seven, that can turn into a (still blond and bespectacled) werewolf cub.

The film version, directed by Joram Lürsen (Love is All [+see also:
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) was produced by BosBros and was released by Benelux Films Distributors Belgium (BFD) on November 30.

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Two upcoming Dutch children’s features were selected for the Generation section of the 2012 Berlinale: Kauwboy [+see also:
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from Boudewijn Koole and Taking Chances [+see also:
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from Nicole van Kilsdonk. Both focus on father issues and will vie for the festival’s Crystal Bear.

Taking Chances was released locally in October through A-Film and tells the story of how the nine-year-old daughter of a doctor copes with the fact he is often sent to risky war zones.

Chances, which is partially animated, was produced by Lemming Film in co-production with broadcaster NCRV and Belgian outfit A Private View. The film received backing from the Netherlands Film Fund, the VAF and the CoBO Fund.

Kauwboy will have its world premiere at the Berlinale and will be released in the Netherlands on April 25 through Benelux Film Distributors. The protagonist of the film is a young boy whose occasionally difficult and aggressive father reacts badly when he lies about having adopted a jackdaw (named “kauw” in Dutch, hence the title).

The debut film was produced by Waterland Film as part of Cinema Junior initiative, a collaboration between the Netherlands Film Fund, the Mediafonds and the state broadcasters that aims to support and stimulate high-quality children’s films.

All three films are sold internationally by Canadian outfit Delphis Films, which will screen a further three Dutch children’s films at the European Film Market in Berlin: The Magician, The Secret Letter [+see also:
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and Fuchsia the Mini-Witch [+see also:
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.

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