Mike van Diem

Eye has restored Mike van Diem's directorial debut CHARACTER. In 1998, the film won the Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film and a Golden Calf at NFF in 1997.

Mike van Diem based the scenario on the classic novel and a posthumously published novella Karakter by writer F. Bordewijk. The film is located in Rotterdam before WWII and tells the story of the ruthless bailiff Dreverhaven (monumentally portrayed by Jan Decleir) who is feared by many. His ambitious and stubborn illegitimate son Katadreuffe (Fedja van Huêt’s breakthrough role) decides, after bankruptcy, to become a lawyer.