by Nathaniel R
Will The Netherlands submit "De Oost", currently streaming on Amazon?
For those of you who like to follow the admittedly super niche drama of the submission battles for Oscar's best International Feature Film race, we have another finalist list to report. The Netherlands will be announcing their submission in early October but we have their 14 wide finalist list. The first thing to note is that Paul Verhoeven's excellent lesbian nun drama Benedetta is not on it. Perhaps it's because the Dutch director who The Netherlands have submitted four times (Turkish Delight, Soldier of Orange, The Fourth Man, Black Book) is now working in France mostly. Elle, his most recent previous picture, was a submission for France and perhaps Benedetta wasn't deemed Dutch enough? Only three of the fourteen possibilities from The Netherlands have anything like an international profile and all three are about young soldiers so we suspect the Dutch will be sending a war drama.
After the jump a brief decription of each finalist, one of which is already in release in the US...
Anne+ The Film by Valerie Bisscheroux
A lesbian drama about a twentysomething girl who runs into an ex girlfriend when she moves into a new Amsterdam apartment. It's from a TV series which ran from 2018-2020 though so we doubt they'll select it with Oscar voters having no reference point.
UPDATE 10/06 -- THIS IS THE FILM THE NETHERLANDS HAVE SUBMITTED
Do Not Hesitate by Shariff Korver
A thriller about three soldiers guarding a military vehicle in the scorching desert. It played at Tribeca earlier this summer and has more festivals ahead. In Dutch and English.
The East by Jim Taihuttu
A post WW II drama about a soldier deployed to the Dutch colony of Indonesia who is suffering pangs of conscience at his duties. This one is currently streaming on Amazon. The film stars three Dutch lookers: Martijn Lakemeier (Winter in Wartime), Marwan Kenzari (The Old Guard, Instinct), and Jonas Smulders. It's in Dutch, Indonesian, English, and Japanese.
Family Fox on Expedition by Bob Wilbers
A family film about a boy doing a scavenger hunt in a theme park following clues his deceased grandfather left him.
The Forgotten Battle by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
A World War II drama about a British pilot, and a Dutch boy and girl who end up entangled during the "Battle of the Scheldt". The famous Dutch director Paula van der Oest (Zus & Zo, Accused) wrote the screenplay but didn't direct this time. Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Gijs Blom (Boys, Letter for the King), and Jamie Flatters (all three upcoming Avatar films) co-star. It comes to Netflix in the US on October 15th so it could well be The East's main competition. It's in Dutch, German, and English.
I Don't Wanna Dance by Flynn Von Kleist
A true story about a teenage dancer and his mother starring the teen who the movie is about.
The Judgement by Sander Burger
Just released in the Netherlands, it's a true story of a journalist who challenged the media and courts around the Deventer murder case in 1999.
A Man and a Camera by Guido Hendrikx
A documentary about ordinary people watched by a silent camera operator
Meskina by Daria Bukvic
A comedy about a single thirtysomething Dutch-Moroccan woman. Meskina translates to something like "pity-case"
My Best Friend Anne Frank by Ben Sombogaart
Based on the memoirs of Anne Frank's friend Hannah Goslar. It just opened in The Netherlands. Sombogaart is the only director among the finalists who has previously been submitted. His 2003 film Twin Sisters was his country's most recent nominated film at the Oscars.
Mitra by Kaweh Modiri
A drama about a Dutch woman and the new Iranian refugee she meets who she believes was responsible for her daughter's execution in Iran decades earlier.
Shadow Game by Eefje Blankevoort
A documentary about teenage refugees in Europe.
Silence of the Tides by Pieter-Rim de Kroon
A documentary about the cinematic history of The Walden Sea, the largest wetlands and coastal system in the world.
10 Songs for Charity by Karin Junger
A drama about two Nigerian prositutes working illegally in Europe. IMDb says this is in English. The Oscars recently adjusted their rules around language (to be more lenient specifically to African films with Pidgin English and such variations) but who knows if this one will qualify if submitted.
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The Netherlands have received 7 nominations, winning 3 times. They've had a stroke of bad luck since 2003, though. In the past 17 years they've made the finals three times (Black Book, Winter in Wartime, Accused) but each time they were denied the nomination in the end.
Which of these do you think it will be and do any of them sound interesting to you?