The Holland Film Meeting (HFM) is both proudly Dutch and resolutely international in its focus, determined to steer its projects along a path that gives them the greatest possible visibility beyond the borders of the Netherlands. The HFM 2024 centered around two days of intense activity around 15 Dutch projects, from development through to rough-cut stage, presented to an international audience of top sales, co-production, distribution, finance, and festival professionals, all gathered in Utrecht.

The event saw a shift in emphasis this year with the introduction of the Dutch Gallery selection of four rough-cut projects, and the continuation of the Stories & Beyond and New Dutch programmes.

The Stories & Beyond programme was aimed at screenwriters and filmmakers with a project at early stage of script development (five in total) looking to explore narrative developments and perspectives, based on the advice of (inter)national experts, creatives and industry professionals.

Meanwhile the New Dutch selection invited six film teams (producer/director) with a project at advanced script or research stage, to work out new ways to “define, engage, and reach their intended audience, and to position their project to (inter)national platforms and audiences.”

The Dutch Gallery

During the inaugural Dutch Gallery rough-cut presentation, four new projects were pitched to the professionals. The projects were diverse, ranging from a magical realist crime caper in the district of Limburg (Fabula); the return of a Moroccan patriarch to his homeland (Porte Bagage, an HFM alumni project that was previously selected as part of the New Dutch programme in 2023); the expression through movement of a teenager’s desire to bond again with her mother (Vlam); and the discovery by a teenager of his dad’s gay relationship with another man (Dovetail).

“For us, it was very exciting because this was the first time we screened or actually let people experience this film,” commented Vlam producer, Derk-Jan Warrink of Keplerfilm. Likewise Dovetail producer Loes Komen of Room For Film, for whom the HFM experience of unveiling the new project was “intimate.”

“The Holland Film Meeting has been with me for forever,” she said. “Actually, my first encounter with co-producing was at the Holland Film Meeting. There's a lot of great sales agents that you can get in touch with. Some of them already reached out to me beforehand...It's very relaxed. They have the time here. I think it [HFM] is a little gem. Talking about films is better when you have a chill environment, and this is a very relaxed environment for me. It feels like home.”

Dutch Gallery moderator Margje de Koning, artistic director of human rights festival Movies That Matter, was also very impressed by the event, “What I've seen today is four films which had very high production value and huge international potential. Why? Because they are really well-made stories and they can elevate themselves in terms of the important themes they're choosing. We can be very optimistic. Honestly, it was an honour to moderate it. I had a very proud feeling this afternoon.”

Stories & Beyond

The Stories & Beyond programme introduced five films at the very start of their journey. New York-based screenwriter/director Abigail Prade was in Utrecht to discuss her poignant project Er Tin Tin, which weaves together different stories from folklore and Surinamese history, while centring on the experiences of one family in the 1980s.

"It's been very, very productive for me because I'm still at the early development stage. The Holland Film meeting has been offering me opportunities to connect with script consultants and people who help you to develop the story, but also with other filmmakers and producers. And that's what I need right now at this stage,” she said. “I applied back in late May and after I heard I was selected, I've been guided by the different people at the festival to ask me what my needs are for the project. And based on that, they put together a programme for me. And leading up to the festival, we also had workshops on audience design, on pitching, and then also on festivals. I think it is really great to get that opportunity already so early in development because it gives you a lot of things to think about, and I think it also gives me the tools for the next steps after this event is over.”

Award-winning Urszula Antoniak, selected for HFM with her project Self Tape, reported how she had one “phenomenal” response from an audience design/marketing expert that she met, who found the project particularly “hot,” and who shared ideas about the promotion of the film. As a suggestion, Antoniak commented that she would have liked more such audience meetings in Utrecht. “Their insight/knowledge of the market and how to get there is inspirational at this stage.”

Dutch-based Ukrainian director and HFM matchmaker Mariia Ponomarova underlined how the particularly Dutch angle of HFM pays dividends for projects and participants alike, as it creates a sense of solidarity among the filmmakers who understand more than most the local context in which they are working.

“And it creates a better focus in the way that we see that Dutch cinema is very diverse. You cannot box it in one way or another,” she states. “And I think [the setting] also gives a bit more sense of cosiness. So, we are curious to hear feedback from this edition and then implement it for the next years so that we'll see what works and what doesn't. An event like HFM is never static. It's always going to be in motion.”

New Dutch

New Dutch was a competitive section, in which six projects competed for two prizes.

The Global Audience Award went to the Free Fall by Bregt Pepijn Verhagen, produced by Fleur Knopperts and Denis Vaslin of Volya Films. As its synopsis reads; while the health of his seriously ill father deteriorates, Joey becomes completely absorbed in the pursuit of achieving his dream physique in preparation for a bodybuilding competition. But at what cost?

“We were really not expecting a prize as we have been focussed on the script the past year since we received Script Development support from the Netherlands Film Fund,” producer Knopperts admitted. “Of course, we’ve had our audience in mind, but participating at HFM was meant as a first test of the international potential for the project. It is a local story with a theme that we believe can resonate with audiences outside of the Netherlands, so we were really happy to find out that is the case. The meetings were very helpful and gave lots of input on how we can find the right balance between a story that takes its theme seriously, but doesn’t get too heavy. And really good input also on what strategies we can employ to reach our target audience. It was good to discover that many people really connect with the main theme of the project.”

In-Soo Radstake’s Look Like Jackie, produced by Nadadja Kemper of Holland Harbour Entertainment, received a Special Mention within the prize category. In the film, Radstake, who is often mistaken for movie star Jackie Chan, questions whether self-deprecation and humour could contribute significantly to the polarized debate on anti-racism.

“It’s great to get such positive feedback on a project we’ve been developing for a year now. During the pitch, the audience reacted extremely positive to the promo,” the director commented of the HFM experience. “During the round tables, we were able to show three rough cuts of scenes, and the reaction was even stronger. All industry professionals gave multiple ideas for getting the film out into the world and expressed the potential to reach a global audience. The same goes for the one-on-one meetings. We are really looking forward to find strong partners to elevate our project to a global level.”

Mari Sanders was named the winner of the Cam-A-Lot & Filmmore Best Live Pitch Award winner for his Get Up Stand Up, produced by Ineke Kanters and Lisette Kelder, The Film Kitchen. In the film, when cheerful Vera (23) finds herself in a wheelchair, she must reinvent her life. This doesn’t happen until she meets Xander (22), who has also been in a wheelchair his whole life….

When accepting the award, director Sanders, himself in a wheelchair, spoke of his strong relationship with this producer. “Without chemistry, there is no film,” he said.

Producer Lisette Kelder commented: “The HFM turned out to be of great value for our film, we received much useful feedback, but above all, extremely positive responses. Also, it was inspiring and of great use for our film to be surrounded by so many international professionals from the industry.”

The New Dutch session was moderated by Mariia Ponomarova, who emphasized the importance of HFM’s focus on audience development.

“I think knowing your audience is essential, or at least thinking proactively about the potential audience for projects,” she comments. “And the positionality workshop is a very good approach. But also, beyond that, it's very good that makers are more and more prepared before they meet the [potential] partners. Because here at HFM, they're going to have meetings, they're going to have feedback, and they're going to receive certain suggestions as well. So, if they know their own project better, what they stand for, who they want to attract, what they have to propose to others, then it is, I think, a very good exercise.”

Click here to see all projects in the Dutch Gallery, Stories & Beyond and New Dutch sections.