The Way South

Johan van der Keuken went against the grain in 1980: from Amsterdam (on April 30 with the coronation riots and squatting actions) via Paris, southern France and Italy to Egypt. He made his personal travelogue in three parts for VPRO television. Later, he fused the three parts into one long movie.

1981-01-01 | nl

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.

2004-12-08 | en

Nigella’s Amsterdam Christmas

Nigella returns for a very special Christmas treat when she travels to Amsterdam to enjoy the festive season in the Venice of the North.

2023-12-21 | en

The Re-Up

A backstage and on-stage look at Nicki Minaj's career during the Pink Friday Tour, festivals, and more.

2012-11-19 | en

Wild Amsterdam

The city from the unique perspective of the many wild animals and plants that inhabit it. Seen through the eyes of the adventurous urban cat, Abatutu.

2018-03-01 | nl

Joszef Katús's Not Too Fortunate Return to the Land of Rembrandt

The dutchified Hungarian Joszef Katús returns, after a months-long absence, to Amsterdam on 29 April 1966. The arrival of the Provos changed a great deal in the Dutch capital. The film follows Katús, mostly roaming the streets, in a loose documentary style. The events are set against the backdrop of four national occasions - The Queen's Birthday, Labour Day, Liberation Day and Remembrance Day.

1966-08-03 | nl

In Old Amsterdam

This Traveltalks entry looks at the sights, sounds, people, and art masterpieces in the capital of the Netherlands.

1949-11-12 | en

De verkrotte droom

What if your house is no longer a home, but a bureaucratic nightmare? The residents of the Van der Pekbuurt in Amsterdam are fighting for a fair and sustainable renovation of their beloved working-class neighborhood. The houses are creaking and creaking, mold is rampant and it is almost impossible for the residents to get anything done when maintenance is in arrears. Cost savings are given priority, which is why the renovation plans are increasingly being stripped down. Will the Van der Pekkers succeed in enforcing a fair and sustainable renovation?

2025-05-01 | nl

Ein deutscher Boxer

2012-09-05 | de

Mother Land

When filmmaker Mari Soppela took her children and husband to live for a year on a sacred mountain in her native Finland, she was fulfilling a lifelong dream to share the arctic wilderness of her childhood with her family. But when years later her children turn the camera onto her, she is forced to confront her motivation for filming their lives in this searching and searingly honest cinematic exploration of identity, belonging and motherhood. Filmed over the course of 27 years, Mother Land challenges us all to examine the landscapes we carry within us and the narratives we create to make sense of our lives.

2022-02-02 | fi

Beppie

BEPPIE is a moving and disarming portrait of an Amsterdam street urchin. Van der Keuken once described her as follows: 'She was ten years old and the joy of the Achtergracht, where I was living at the time. An Amsterdam child, sweet and crooked as a corkscrew.' He films her while she skims the city with some friends and knocks at strangers' doors. Her family has nine children and is not well off. In those days, a visit to the De Miranda swimming pool cost a quarter, but only ten cents if the weather was bad. At school, Beppie gets a poor mark because she is too boisterous, but when the whole class rattles off the multiplication tables, she joins in at the top of her voice. All of TV-watching Holland was wildly enthusiastic about this portrait, with which Van der Keuken even made the front page of the national newspaper De Telegraaf.

1965-12-21 | nl

The New Rijksmuseum

At the end of 2003 the main building of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum has closed, in the words of managing director Ronald de Leeuw, becoming 'the most conceivable art museum'. The Spanish architects Cruz and Ortiz signed for the big design; in 2008 the modernized museum would open with a pioneering museum concept. Moviemaker Hoogendijk followed the first four years of what is called the biggest Dutch cultural operation in history.

2008-11-21 | nl

Fall 2

Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.

1970-03-10 | en

Virgin School

Virgin School follows the emotional and physical journey of 26-year-old virgin James as he embarks on a unique four-month course for sexually inexperienced men in Amsterdam

2007-05-15 | en

Vergeven of vergelden

In their practice, lawyers Klaartje Freeke and Wikke Monster strive to make the criminal justice system more humane. They encourage their clients not to focus solely on guilt and the sentence imposed, but also to consider the impact of what happened and their feelings about it. In every session, they seek to help their clients experience the benefits of looking not only at others, but also, and especially, at themselves.

2025-05-07 | nl

Dance Iranian Style

A documentary film crew follows a young Iranian girl, Roya, after her request for asylum was denied and is forced to enter an illegal life on streets of Amsterdam. The film crew follows her from a distance trying not to intervene, no matter what occurs to her.

2015-09-12 | en

Swimming with Wings

A short animated documentary exploring the immigration experience through the eyes of children learning how to swim with clothes on in the Netherlands.

2023-10-11 | en

The Hole’s Journey

A worn-out floor, the hole underneath, a political activist, and the Ouled Sbita tribe are the protagonists in this political satire. For 23 years, the director’s chair at an international art institute scratched the wooden floor. This 102cm x 120cm floor section is cut out and sent to an expropriated piece of land in Morocco. In The Hole’s Journey, Ghita Skali uses sharp wit, personal stories and playful editing to touch on specific power dynamics and freedom of choice.

2021-02-03 | ar

Bruin Jackson Superstar

Bruin has a new mission: to become a superstar, just like his idol Michael Jackson. Although singing is not his greatest talent, he starts - supported by friends and colleagues - to build a music career.

2024-10-25 | nl

Hans, Life Before Death

Hans: Het Leven voor de dood (Hans, Life Before Death) is a documentary feature film about the life of the young composer Hans van Sweeden (1939-1963) and those who knew him intimately. The film is about the harrowing life of the musician, poet and actor Hans van Sweeden (1939-1963), who ended his life at the age of 24. Simultaneously, the film offers a poignant portrait of his contemporaries in the turbulent fifties and sixties and the children of the Nazis. It won the Golden Calf for Best Feature Film in 1983. Award of the Dutch film critics, 1983; the Belgian film critics Award, 1984; Best Dutch Documentary 1980-1990. (Wikipedia)

1983-01-01 | en