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
The intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approa... Read more
Blood-spattered, darkly comic, punk rock shocker from Belgium. When well-known writer Dries is approached by a punk band to be their drummer, there is... Read more
'Farinelli il Castrato'. A sumptuously filmed saga of two brothers in 18th century Europe, one a composer and the other a castrato opera singer. (Fari... Read more
Lara, a 15-year-old girl who was born in a boy's body, is committed to becoming a professional ballerina. Read more
Dutch twin sisters travel to America to look for their long-lost mother. Read more
Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in this unique, existential heist thriller with a dark comic streak. Down and out, with only straight-to-DVD title... Read more
Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in this unique, existential heist thriller with a dark comic streak. Down and out, with only straight-to-DVD title... Read more
The young girl Keetje moves to Amsterdam in 1881 with her impoverished family, and is led into prostitution in order to survive. In the process she se... Read more
Hailed by critics as one of the top ten films of 1996, this unforgettable, lyrical drama tells of Igor, a teenage thief whose father is a master swind... Read more
Lorna is a young Albanian woman living illegally in Belgium whose desire for citizenship leads her into a dangerous world. In order to get the proper... Read more