Off Track

The seventeen year old Stach is faced with five impossible assignments he has to complete in order to become king. Things do not go as easily as the boisterous Stach had expected, especially when he is confronted with matters of life and death.

What on earth can an adult, childless man write to a kindergarten class? When a lone wolf finds a balloon with a note attached, he seizes the opportunity to pass on his hard-learned life lessons to the unknown infant that sent it. Lessons that do not necessarily line up with a pre-schooler’s experiences, but which may be valuable to him or her at a later age. In the process, unconnected generations find each other in this moving short film, based on a story by Tommy Wieringa.

A Dutch TV journalist finds himself challenging the police, courts and media as he attempts to uncover the truth about the controversial 1999 Deventer murder case.

Psychological drama about a seemingly happy couple who model themselves on everything television and lifestyle magazines prescribe for them. They appear content with their lives, until the cosmetics they have used to coat their illusory existence begin to crack. And then everything that seems self-evident begins to shift.

Amsterdam, 1982. When journalist Jan Brokken meets Youri Egorov – the world-famous Soviet pianist who fled his homeland because of his sexuality – an unexpected friendship begins. Jan, quiet and guarded, is drawn to Youri’s brilliance, excess and freedom; Youri, in turn, recognizes in Jan a kindred outsider. As their bond deepens, Youri inspires Jan the courage to pursue the life he has always postponed: becoming a writer.

Ama, the daughter of Senegalese asylum seekers, feels completely Dutch. When Ama's mother and brother are arrested, Ama sets off in search of her father through Rotterdam in the middle of winter, hoping to avoid deportation. During this frightening and exciting journey, she discovers her roots, thanks in part to her extraordinary totem animal: a gigantic porcupine.

In order to meet future care demands for elderly who are lonely and suffering from dementia, carebot Alice has been developed. Can a robot build a human relationship with someone and thus replace a person of flesh and blood? The three women, all getting on in years, who are visited by her in Alice Cares actually become pretty fond of the robot girl. Carebot Alice leaves the laboratory to visit Mrs. Remkes, Mrs. Schellekens-Blanke and Mrs. van Wittmarschen, each in their own house. The three women are getting on in age and are therefore exceptionally suited for the services of Alice, who has been developed by SELEMCA. This is a research group which tries to discover, with the help of community nurses and family, how 'sociobot' Alice should talk and react to stem the effects of loneliness on older women. The outcome of the experiment is surprising for all involved.

Panman: Rhythm of the Palms tells the story of the rise and fall of the steel drum pan player Harry Daniel. Harry is an icon of the Caribbean whose personal life suffers when he places his music above his family. For he is desperate to pass the pan culture to a younger generation. During this crusade to keep the music alive on his beloved island of St Martin he meets the exceptionally talented Jacko who becomes his star apprentice and hope for the future. Harry treats him like the son he never had. However when Harry's fame begins to diminish, Jacko turns against him and embraces instead the world of rock music. But when Harry dies unexpectedly Jacko returns to his island culture to become pan music's brilliant new icon.

Olivier calls himself a 'statistical miracle'. He is almost 27 years old but the doctors had predicted that, because of the heart disease he was born with, he would not get much older than 25 years. He doesn't seem to be suffering from the threat of death closing in on him. With unbridled energy, he parties, smokes, drinks and dances until deep into the night, and in the morning wakes up in bed next to girls he doesn't even know. His family and friends alienate from him because of this life style, and the fact that he doesn't have long lasting relationships, doesn't bother him. Olivier lives, day by day. Until new medical technologies make it possible to cure him, and a new future opens up to him. Everybody is happy, but Olivier doesn't know how to deal with the expectations and responsibilities of his new life.