3 Dutch (Co-)productions in Official Selection

In the main programme, we have three Dutch (co-)productions that will be screened. After its world premiere in Venice and North-American premiere at Telluride, Three Minutes - A Lengthening*, written and directed by Bianca Stigter, is presented in Toronto as part of TIFF Docs. The film presents a home film, shot by David Kurtz in 1938 in a Jewish town, somewhere in Poland and tries to postpone its ending. The film is a haunting essay about history and memory. As long as we are watching, history is not over yet. The three minutes of footage, mostly in color, are the only moving images left of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk before the Holocaust. The existing three minutes are examined moment by moment to unravel the stories hidden in the celluloid. Different voices enhance the images: Glenn Kurtz, grandson of David Kurtz and Maurice Chandler, who appears in the film as a young boy. Actress Helena Bonham Carter narrates the film essay. It is produced by Family Affair Films, in co-production with the British Lammas Park. It is supported by the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and sales is handled by Autlook.

Dutch minority co-production Huda's Salon by Hany Abu-Assad world premieres in Toronto's Platform Competition. The film is co-produced by KeyFilm and sales is handled by Memento Films. In Huda's Salon**, we follow Reem, a married young woman from Palestine, who visits Huda’s salon for an ordinary haircut, but this visit will end anything but ordinary. Huda blackmails Reem and gives her an impossible choice. Or Reem betrays her people and becomes a collaborator, or Huda will reveal a dark secret of Reem. The fate of these two women is mysteriously determined by a clever freedom fighter named Hasan.

Golden Globe Award winner & Academy Award nominated director Ari Folman returns to Toronto with his animated family film Where Is Anne Frank** which celebrated its world premiere in Cannes. Where Is Anne Frank is part of TIFF's Special Presentations and is minority co-produced by Submarine and sales are handled by Wild Bunch. The film the story of Kitty, the imaginary girl to whom Anne Frank wrote her famous diary. She comes to life in the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Her memories reawakened by reading the diary, believing that if she is alive, Anne must be alive as well. She sets out on a quest to find Anne. We follow Kitty as she travels across Europe and back to Anne Frank’s time, armed with the precious book, in search of her beloved friend. The animation is an adaptation of Anne Frank's internationally-loved classic The Diary of a Young Girl.

2 Dutch films in TIFF Industry Selects

TIFF presents a special programme during the festival called TIFF Industry Selects: a programme where new films are presented to potential international buyers. Alex van Warmerdam's new feature Nr. 10** is selected for this section. The film is produced by Graniet Film (NL) in co-production with Czar Film & TV (BE), with international sales being handled by Nine Film. In Nr. 10, an actor without a past is overwhelmed by a series of strangers who strong-arm him into his future. 

Cool Abdoul** by Jonas Baeckland is a Belgian/Dutch co-production, minority co-produced by N279 Entertainment. The film is about Ismail Abdoul, a young and promising boxer, who gets more and more entangled within a web of disastrous choices. Ultimately, his biggest fight will be against himself.

Toronto International Film Festival starts September 10th and continues until the 18th. For more information on the festival, click here. Be sure to check out SEE NL for Dutch films news from Toronto, including interviews with film creators.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund
*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Production Incentive and Netherlands Film Fund