Old Posters New (January 2001) photo courtesy Netherlands Filmmuseum Collection A special premiere of Stephen Daldry's "Billy Elliot" took place at the Royal Institute for the Tropics in Amsterdam on January 21st. The event was preceded by a performance staged by students of the National Ballet Academy. The occasion was also used by distributor UIP to present Han Ebbelaar (dancer and founder of the Dancers' Foundation Fund) with a check for $7,500 in order to finance a special summer course for the students. Oscar month is on our doorsteps again. March 25th is the evening that all will be revealed at the Los Angeles Shrine auditorium. Unfortunately, the general television viewing public in Holland is unable to watch the ceremonies live, but will have to settle for an edited version later in the week. Watching it after the fact sort of takes the kick out of the event since most people will already know who won what. Why don't all you Dutch citizens and/or residents (meaning film freaks) write a letter of complaint to either John de Mol or Joop van den Ende and get something happening in that area? It could give you a chance to have a late-night picnic next March or at least hold the hand of someone you want to be next to in the dark. (After all, remember, it takes place in Holland during the middle of the night!). The International Film Festival Rotterdam runs until February 4th. Check out reviews for some of the films being screened online. February 5th will be the date for the performance "0" (Point Zero) at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. A giant projection screen for this multimedia spectacular will engulf ten pianos, five composers/conductors and five video artists. An initiative of the Synartes Foundation, further information can be found at www.nulpunt.com The Netherlands Filmmuseum began a conservation program in 1996 with the photo courtesy Netherlands Filmmuseum Collection photo courtesy Netherlands Filmmuseum Collection intention of rescuing approximately 10,000 posters (or one third of the collection). This program has been made possible through funds donated by the Deltaplan for Cultural Conservation, as well as support offered by the Mondriaan Foundation and Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sciences (OCW). The posters selected have been chosen to halt advancing color deterioration caused by certain glues and tapes used in the past. The Filmmuseum hopes to exhibit their treasury of posters more often in the future. Due to the restricted space available at the museum, possibilities will be investigated for exposing them in other locations. Beginning on April 25th and running until September 21st they will be participating in the Rijksmuseum exhibition 'Zimmerfrei' which deals with the postwar relationship between Holland and Germany. (Posters from Dutch films such as "De Overval", "Als Twee Druppels Water", "De Aanslag" and "Pastorale 1943" will be on display.) The Filmmuseum will be screening a number of Hammer horror films in April and, because of this, a second poster exhibition will be taking place at an as-yet-unknown location. (Isn't that spooky?) "The Night of Bad Taste" (Nacht van de Wansmaak) strikes again (after an interim of three years) this month on various dates, for one night only, in the cities of Rotterdam (during the annual Rotterdam Filmfestival), Enschede, Groningen, Amsterdam, and Utrecht. For those cult followers who find bad taste enthralling, the treats throughout the night will include obscure trailers, embarrassing film fragments, and an uncut feature length film. An exhibition of Dennis Hopper's photography opens at Amsterdam's prestigious Stedelijk Museum on February 17th and runs until April 16th. For those in the know, Hopper's photos are almost as exciting as his (ex-) lifestyle. Take a chance to catch a glance. He will also be making a special appearance on a live Dutch talk show, but, unfortunately, everyone can forget about getting tickets because, strangely enough, it seems the program staff distributed the tickets before they offered them to the public during an earlier live broadcast. © 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett