Dutch Film Festival reaches Two Decades. Also: Drug Smuggle cuts short finishing touches for van Gogh "Baby Blue" necessitating Spanish reshoot.

ontwerp: Studio Anthon Beeke

• The 20th Dutch Film Festival will take place between September 21st and 29th in Utrecht, Holland. "Wilde Mosselen" ("Wild Mussels"), the first feature film by director Erik de Bruyn will be the opening film this year. Director Hetty Honigmann has been chosen as honorary guest for this latest edition of the festival. Her impressive work encompasses includes feature films, documentaries and short films. A special program this year will be dedicated to a "Blik op het Land" ("View of the Country") and includes, among other works, films by Maruschka Detmers, Johan van der Keuken, and Hans Heijnen. Further info available about the festival: www.filmfestival.nl
  
• Several scenes shot in Curaçao for Theo van Gogh's new production of the Tomas Ross novel "Baby Blue" were discovered to be missing after the material arrived (or more correctly didn't arrive) at Schiphol airport in August. The package (which should have contained the filmmaterial) was replaced by one containing drugs. Apparently, using the special "Baby Blue" transport label seemed an easy method for someone to smuggle white powder into Holland. After arrival at Cineco laboratories the package and its contents were turned over to the appropriate authorities, who are now busy with further investigation. (Such sinister goings-on surrounding the new film-noir thriller of can only make one hope that the story of the film is as fascinating as the incidents surrounding the making.) The crucial missing scenes will be reshot in Spain at the beginning of this month.
• The second edition of the "Film By the Sea" Festival at Vlissingen (CineCity) and Middelburg (travelling art-deco cinema located at the Cinema Boulevard) in Holland will take place between the 12th and 17th of September. Located in the northern part of the country, the location also offers the unacquainted some beautiful scenery to view between screenings. Some 60 films will be having their Dutch premieres in the main competition for the category Film and Literature. Also on the agenda are special programs of "unreleased" films and Spanish cinema as well as a retrospective of the Coen Brothers. Besides having a chance to see the CB's latest film "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?", some of the interesting tidbits include Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's "Angels of the Universe," Carlos Saura's "Goya in Bordeaux," Ettore Scola's "La Cena," and Terence Davies' "The House of Mirth." Further info available: www.film-by-the-sea.com

  photo courtesy
  The Publicity Company

• In connection with the "Dutch Internet Film Festival, segments of 21 Dutch films will be available for viewing till September 29th at:www.filmfestival.nl
• "Yuppies, Dybbuks, and Scuds," is the title of an Israeli Film Festival that will be taking place at the Nederlands Film Museum in Amsterdam between September 14th and 20th. On September 17th a forum will be held discussing the present situation of Israeli cinema with such notables as Jonathan Sagal (director "Urban Feel"), Marek Rosenbaum (producer "Yana's Friends"), and Gur Bentwick (director "Total Love"). The Israeli cinema encompasses a number of exciting contemporary works that have received a resounding reaction from audiences at various international film festivals, but have, to date, not received widespread distribution in Holland. In an attempt to correct this situation, the Dutch Film Museum has planned a festival that includes nine feature films and a number of shorter works, all dating from the period 1995- 2000. Comedies, road movies, romantic fantasies, and family dramas are among the screenings on offer. The political and social changes within this small country during the last twenty years have led to a cinematic development which offers devoutly personal views from a new generation of critical film directors who are preoccupied with such topics as (homo)sexuality, family ties, love relationships and the holocaust. Amos Gitai's "Kadosh" begins the festival, which will be officially opened by the Israeli ambassador in Holland, His Excellency Yossi Gal. After the screenings in Amsterdam the festival will travel to Filmtheatre De Lantaren/Venster in Rotterdam and to the Haags Filmhuis in The Hague during the period between September 21st and 27th. (Note: many of the films are in Hebrew with English subtitles.) Shalom.
• The IBC 2000 will be taking place at the Amsterdam RAI convention hall from September 8th until 12th. More information available show@ibc.org
• The 27th edition of the International Filmfestival of Flanders will be taking place in Ghent, Belgium from the 10th till the 21st of October. The entire program will be announced around the 22nd of September. The special events this time around include a live concert with Hans Zimmer at the Gentse Kuipke (Sport Palace) on October 10th (get your tickets quick). Zimmer will perform selections from his most notable works ("The Lion King," "Rainman," "The Thin Red Line," "Driving Miss Daisy," "Gladiator," Mission Impossible II," etc.) with the Flemish Radio Orchestra conducted by Dirk Brossé. More info regarding the festival available at: www.filmfestival.be
• The Felix Meritis European Center for Arts and Sciences will be starting a series of discussion panels about the Internet titled "IT-Kenniscafé." The first discussion about "Who's got the power on the Internet, the multinational or the individual?" is scheduled to take place on September 26th from 8 P.M. till 9:30 P.M. at the Felix Meritis building located at Keizersgracht 324 in Amsterdam. Future meetings will always take place on the third Tuesday of the month.
• Austin Powers' third film might not be opening yet, but the video is now available in Holland for the "Spy Who Shagged Me," so there's another Amsterdam "Shagadelic- Dance-Event" taking place on the 16th of September in Amsterdam at the Cinetone studio's at Duivendrechtsekade 85. Further info at:www.cinetone.nl Ooooh, Baby.
• An interesting item: Toys inspired by cult silent films such as "Nosferatu" and "Doctor Caligari" are planned to go on sale sometime in the near future. No definite news to date, but, believe me, they look fabulous. Renfield and Nosferatu, especially, have that grotesque look that might make you confuse them with your own little darlings once placed in the crib.