Today the Netherlands Film Festival announced the winning projects of the Netherlands Production Platform, the coproduction market for European film projects that are presented to a select group of film professionals and potential film financiers. The aim of the Platform is to launch these projects by encouraging networking and collaboration among relevant representatives in the film industry. A selection was made from over 80 submissions and includes 23 projects from 15 different countries.

Netherlands Production Platform 2013

Netherlands Production Platform Prizes
• The Binger Award:
MONK, written by Roosmarijn Roos Rosa de Carvalho, to be directed by Ties Schenk, and produced by Marleen Slot at Viking Film, Netherlands.
The Binger Award goes to a team of promising new filmmakers who are developing a project that is startlingly original. It manages to combine a delightfully bittersweet tone with a sense of truth and authenticity in its presentation of a dysfunctional family comprised of extreme characters, who are all struggling with their individual crises and fears in a most entertaining way.

• The Camalot & Filmmore Cinema Emerging Talent Prize:
MONK, written by Roosmarijn Roos Rosa de Carvalho, to be directed by Ties Schenk, and produced by Marleen Slot at Viking Film, Netherlands.
A film which could hardly tick more 'emerging talent' boxes when it comes to its key team members: a first-time director working from a script which started out as a graduation project, working with an experienced producer launching a new company. The journey which this marvelously dysfunctional family – hypochondriac son, bolshy daughter, depressed father, stressed-out mother - takes is a trip on which we’d all like to go along . The jury also recommends that the journey to Spain should pass through as many tax shelter territories as possible.

• The WarnierPosta Prize:
HEARTSTONE, written and directed by Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson, produced by Anton Mani Svansson, of Join Motion Pictures, Iceland.
A very personal story of coming out and coming of age set against the bleak background of rural Iceland. It's a film which has the potential to be both touching and light-hearted – a film about being brave enough to be different in a small community, and about how friendship can transcend such differences. The jury was especially won over by the passion and enthusiasm of the project’s presentation.

Work-in-Progress Prizes
• The Haghefilm International DCP Prize:
EUROPE'S BORDERLAND directed by Jakob Preuss, produced by Jakob D Weydemann, of Weydemann Bros., Germany.
The film succeeds to translate the personal involvement of the director into an original and intellectual concept which goes against clichés.

• The Filmmore Work-in-Progress Prize:
LAND. directed by Jan-Willem van Ewijk, produced by Bero Beyer, of Augustus film, Netherlands.
It's an original take on the topic of immigration which is never patronising. Production values are very high and the storytelling is very sensual and organic.

Juries
The jury awarding the Binger Award: Claire Launay (Coordinator Feature Films Projects at ARTE France Cinema); Christian Routh (Film Consultant at Binger Filmlab); Vicky Serao (Deputy Director of Binger Filmlab) and Gamila Ylstra (CEO of Binger Filmlab).

The NPP jury, awarding the Camalot & Filmmore Cinema Emerging Talent and WarnierPosta Prize: Roshanak Behesht Nedjad (Managing Director of Flying Moon Filmproduktion), Marge Liiske (Manager of the Baltic Event), Dirk de Lille (Co-managing Director of Paradiso Filmed Entertainment Netherlands), Nick Roddick (Managing Director of Split Screen Data), Bianca Taal (Programmer at International Film Festival Rotterdam) and Sandor Soeteman (Filmmore).

The jury, awarding the Works-in-Progress Prizes: consisting of Nelleke Driessen (Managing Director of Fortissimo Films in Amsterdam), Huub Roelvink (Managing Director of Imagine Film in Amsterdam) and Léo Soesanto (Programmer at Semaine de la Critique in Cannes and Artistic Director of Bordeaux International Independent Film Festival).

The Netherlands Film Festival takes place from 25 september until 4 october 2013. www.filmfestival.nl