Like New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands have small populations and consequently small film budgets that rely heavily on government funding. As a result film makers from these countries, like our own, have a reputation for innovative methods and a roll-your-sleeves-up attitude. When Dutch director Paul Verhoeven first moved to Hollywood he was stunned by the excess of the industry there; his second U.S. film, 'Robocop', contains many digs at the ultimate consumerist society that were not in the original script he was given. In 1992 three Belgian film students released their daring and controversial film, 'Man Bites Dog'; made on a shoe-string this film proves the point that it doesn't take great amounts of money to make great films - just plenty of imagination, dedication and a fair amount elbow grease. Pictured: A scene from castrato Farinelli's colourful and eventful life
Marleen Gorris' winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film centres on an elderly woman who recalls her life in a small Dutch village on the day... Read more
Marleen Gorris' winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film centres on an elderly woman who recalls her life in a small Dutch village on the day... Read more
Belgian musician Tom Barman, founder of the rock band dEUS, has made a wild, ambitious debut that draws its influences from sources as varied as Woody... Read more
Ben suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a type of autism that makes communicating with people difficult. But in the virtual world of online gaming he re... Read more
Director Paul Verhoeven covered everything in Hollywood from erotic thrillers to science fiction films, but the return to his native country (and lang... Read more
Director Paul Verhoeven covered everything in Hollywood from erotic thrillers to science fiction films, but the return to his native country (and lang... Read more
Based on a true story that tells of the last Great Air Race, from London to Christchurch in 1953, which carried 26 young Dutch brides-to-be on their w... Read more
'Brimstone' is an epic thriller set in the old west. A triumphant tale of powerful womanhood and resistance against a violent past that refuses to fad... Read more
'Brimstone' is an epic thriller set in the old west. A triumphant tale of powerful womanhood and resistance against a violent past that refuses to fad... Read more
Winner of the 1997 Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, this Dickensian drama is set in Rotterdam during the 1920s detailing the events that occur... Read more