Golden Calf Film Culture for Halina Reijn

Director and actor Halina Reijn is to be awarded the Golden Calf for Film Culture at the Netherlands Film Festival (NFF). The Golden Calf for Film Culture is awarded to individuals or organisations that have made an exceptional contribution to Dutch film culture and is conferred by the Supervisory Board of the Netherlands Film Festival. The presentation of the 41st Golden Calf for Film Culture will take place on Friday evening, 2 October, during the Golden Calves ceremony at the Stadsschouwburg Utrecht. On the festival’s closing night, the most prestigious Dutch film awards, the Golden Calves, will be presented. The 46th edition of the Netherlands Film Festival will take place from 25 September to 2 October.

Halina Reijn, a Dutch director, has built a successful career in America and, through her artistic vision and international ambition, has further opened doors for Dutch cinema and the Dutch film industry, for which she is being awarded the Golden Calf for Film Culture. The Supervisory Board: “As a director, Halina has set a new standard and is inspiring a new generation of filmmakers to make authentic choices and take artistic risks. By pushing the boundaries, she proves that original, unconventional stories can appeal to a wide audience worldwide.”

Biography

Halina Reijn (1975) trained as an actress at the Maastricht Academy of Performing Arts and began her career with what later became De Theatercompagnie. In 2003, she joined the theatre company ITA (formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam) and, until 2019, played leading roles in productions including La voix humaine, Hedda Gabler, Maria Stuart and Nora, for which she received the Theo d’Or theatre award. Reijn balanced her theatre work with, amongst other things, writing columns and books. She starred in drama series such as The Prince and the Girl, for which she received the Golden Calf, the special jury prize for best actress, in 2007, and in 2020 won another Golden Calf for Best Actress in a Television Drama for Red Light. She also played roles in Dutch feature films such as A Thousand Kisses, Black Book and Isabelle, as well as the international film Valkyrie.

In 2015, she founded the production company Man Up and made her debut as a screenwriter and director with Instinct, which opened the Netherlands Film Festival in 2019. In the US, she directs for the production company A24. She began in 2022 with Bodies Bodies Bodies and, two years later, saw Babygirl have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival – a film she not only directed, but also wrote and co-produced through Man Up.

Reijn is about to start shooting the drama Please, which she is once again writing, directing and producing for A24. She is a member of the Dutch Society of Arts.

Golden Calf for Film Culture

The Golden Calf for Film Culture has been awarded at the Netherlands Film Festival since 1981, provided the Supervisory Board sees fit to do so. Previous recipients of the Golden Calf for Film Culture: Marina Blok (2025) Felix de Rooy (2024), Digna Sinke (2023), Will Koopman (2022), Mijke de Jong (2021), Jac. Goderie (2019), Monique van de Ven (2018), Gerard Soeteman (2017), Alex en Marc van Warmerdam (2016), Sandra den Hamer (2015), Burny Bos (2014), Monique van Schendelen (2013), Willeke van Ammelrooy (2012), Rolf Orthel (2010), Doreen Boonekamp (2009), Rutger Hauer (2008), Robby Müller (2007), Hans Kemna (2005), Jan Decleir (2003), Louis van Gasteren (2002), René Scholten (2001), Matthijs van Heijningen (1999), Geoffrey Donaldson (1998), Robbert Wijsmuller (1997), Jeroen Krabbé (1996), Wim Verstappen (1995), Jan de Vaal (1994), Jan Blokker (1993), Paul Verhoeven (1992), De Filmkrant (1991), Jos Stelling (1990), Ellen Waller (1989), Johan van der Keuken (1988), Fons Rademakers (1987), Anton Koolhaas (1986), Joris Ivens (1985), Jan Marie Peters (1984), Bert Haanstra (1983), Dan Ireland (1982) en Jan Bosman (1981).