25th Anniversary Netherlands Film Festival
September 28 – October 7, 2005
The Netherlands Film Festival celebrates its 25th edition!

Special editions of this anniversary include a Jubilee Book, a DVD-box with all the short films awarded a Golden Calf, a DVD-box with all feature films that won a Golden Calf for Best Feature, a concert with film music and many more activities.


By organising a retrospective of Theo van Gogh, the 25th Netherlands Film Festival pays attention to this deceased filmmaker. Since the assassination of Van Gogh on 2 November 2004, his work has not been screened as a whole yet.

The festival will screen all thirteen films and three TV drama productions by Theo van Gogh, including the award-winning productions BLIND DATE (1996, Golden Calves Best Direction, Best Actor and Best Actress), 06 (1994, Golden Calf for the Special Jury Award and Dutch Film Critics' Award), IN HET BELANG VAN DE STAAT (1997, Golden Calf Best TV Drama) and NAJIB & JULIA (2003, Golden Calf Best Long TV Drama).

The film 0605 THE SIXTH OF MAY and the TV series MEDEA have also been selected for the Golden Calf Competition, as they were completed after last year's edition.

In addition, the festival puts on the special world première of TER ZIELE, a series of dialogues, written and directed by Theo van Gogh, and shot in the summer of 2004. TER ZIELE is a characteristic footnote to the work and the man Van Gogh.

Some of his older work will also be shown, like DE PIJNBANK (1998), FALSE LIGHT (1993), NO PATATOES (1989), RETURN TO OEGSTGEEST (1987), CHARLEY (1986), A DAY AT THE BEACH (1984) and his controversial debut LUGER, which had its première in 1981 at the first edition of the Dutch Film Days - the current Netherlands Film Festival. Van Gogh's family, friends and acquaintances are invited to a special screening of LUGER.

After this screening, a 'friend and foe party' will be held, where the deluxe DVD box containing all thirteen feature films by Van Gogh and an extensive filmography will be presented. This filmography contains contributions by Heere Heeresma, Theodor Holman, Jan Wolkers, Joost Zwagerman and others.

The retrospective programme is organised in conjunction with Column Productions and Shooting Star Filmcompany.