Matthijs van der Veer

An ambitious ecologist returning to her childhood home on the Dutch island of Ameland discovers a dangerous drug smuggling route, forcing her to choose between exposing the truth and protecting those she loves.

A struggling actress gets one last shot at her Hollywood dream - with just one hour to turn an unreleased Dutch movie into a $100 million sequel to "Babygirl."

Documentary about the Groningen comics maker Barbara Stok (1970). She has received worldwide praise for her work for more than twenty years. She knows better than anyone else how to portray philosophical ideas with humor in her books, which are published in many languages. De Volkskrant called her graphic novel 'The philosopher, the dog and the wedding', about the philosopher Hipparchia, one of the best books of 2022. Behind the colorful drawings lies a comic strip creator with a idiosyncratic philosophy of life.

Unemployed Jacob moves in with his elderly mother at the start of the corona lockdown. He falls under the influence of an internet conspiracy-theorist and goes slowly insane.

In Hart van De Halm, director Saskia Jeulink captures the farewell of the 112-year-old strawboard factory De Halm in Hoogkerk. Three former employees return to the place that shaped their lives—not only as individuals, but also as part of a close-knit community. While the past echoes through the halls one last time, a lasting memory is being built. A moving film about farewell, connection, and legacy.

Elles Kiers and Sjef Meijman lived intensively with four Bunte Bentheimer pigs for seven months. During the slaughter month they had their beloved pig Bom killed and then prepared it themselves. The short documentary Blood (Dinanda Luttikhedde, 2011) follows the visual artists in the final phase of their research project into the origin of our food. A valuable ritual unfolds around the processing of this animal.

In 'Rest and Joy', we follow Emma, a city woman, who after the unexpected loss of her husband Thomas discovers that he, after a years-long waiting list, has been granted a garden at the Rust & Joy community garden complex. Although she hates gardening, she decides to accept the garden anyway to fulfill Thomas's dream and not have to let him go for a while yet.