Two Dutch drama series are presented in International Series Competitions:

Messed Up (prod. Topkapi Films) by Eva Crutzen follows the catastrophic single life of Cat, as she struggles to survive in a world that continues moving forward while hers has come to a sudden stop.

Also screening is This Is Gonna Be Great (prod. Big Blue with ZDFneo, BNNVara & VRT) by Rutger Lemm & Rein Mulder. When 28-year-old David moves to Berlin to live with his girlfriend, she dumps him immediately. Still clinging to hyper-romantic ideals about friendship, love, and rent, David decides to stay – but things don’t go as planned.

The Netherlands is also strongly represented in the immersive program at GIFF:

From Dust (prod. doubleA foundation, sales: Intermusica) by Michel van der Aa is a groundbreaking VR opera installation exploring the boundaries of reality and identity. Tailored uniquely with AI for each viewer, it features performances by the acclaimed vocal ensemble Sjaella. From Dust world premiered in Cannes' Immersive Competition, where it won the Award for Best Immersive Work. We hopped on the ferry to Eye Filmmuseum with the director and composer, who introduced his work before heading to Cannes. Watch the interview here.

Maartje Wegdam & Nienke Huitenga Broeren invites viewers on a deeply personal VR journey in Lacuna*(prod. Podium Biarritz & Studio Biarritz). Sonja has no memory of a crucial moment in her early childhood that saved her life. When three long-lost rings are discovered, they trigger a moving journey between what is left and what is lost. The VR experience also world premiered in Cannes’ Immersive Competition, and we interviewed the creators on the ferry to Eye as well. Watch the interview here. 

The darkly humorous VR experience Revival Roadshow* (prod. Anne Fehres, sales: LFC Design) by Anne Fehres & Luke Conroy critiques colonial legacies by resurrecting a 17th-century Dutch explorer in a speculative future. Through interactive audio narration, it challenges contemporary and future cultural myth-making. The production has been traveling the festival circuit since its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January.

Social connections takes centre stage in Ancestors (prod. The Smartphone Orchestra) by Steye Hallema. It is an interactive group experience where participants are guided by their own phones to meet their descendants and reflect on intergenerational legacy. Steye has has been touring the world with Ancestors since it premiered at IDFA Doclab and most recently it shined on Venice's Immersive Island as part of the Best of selection and it has just received the Golden Calf for Best Digtial Production at the Netherlands Film Festival. In an exclusive SEE NL interview, creative director Steye Hallema spoke about his interactive experience just before the presentation in Venice. Watch it here.

Dutch innovation in XR also extends into augmented reality. Future Botanica* (prod. Polymorf, co-prod. Studio Biarritz) by Marcel van Brakel & Hazal Ertürkan is an augmented reality experience where users, together with AI, design speculative ecosystems and imagine forms of new nature. The piece was previously presented at among others IDFA DocLab and SXSW.

Introspection takes center stage in Korstmos, a hybrid immersive work by Tibor de Jong  (prod. Studio Nemo Vos). Over the course of 23 minutes viewers inhabit the life of Dalwin — a man in total solitude, preparing obsessively for the sound of a doorbell as he awaits his grocery delivery. The piece offers offers a visceral, painfully intimate exploration of mental isolation. 

Furthermore Reedland** (prod. Viking Film) by Sven Bresser is screening in the International Feature Competition. The film, which world premiered in Cannes’ Critics Week and is the Netherlands’ official submission to the 98th Academy Awards, follows reed cutter Johan, who discovers the lifeless body of a girl on his land. Overcome by an ambiguous sense of guilt, and while caring for his granddaughter, Johan embarks on a quest to track down evil – only to learn that darkness can thrive in unexpected places. SEE NL spoke to the director before Cannes, read the interview here.

For more information on Geneva International Film Festival 2025, click here.

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*film supported by the Netherlands Film Fund