Surprising Amsterdam

Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story

Presents a day in the life in Amsterdam, a city in transformation, captured shortly after the turn of the millennium, and shortly before the digital revolution would speed up the pace of life considerably. Shot in a fly-on-the-wall style.

Johan van der Keuken went against the grain in 1980: from Amsterdam (on April 30 with the coronation riots and squatting actions) via Paris, southern France and Italy to Egypt. He made his personal travelogue in three parts for VPRO television. Later, he fused the three parts into one long movie.

De Kinderen van Amsterdam

400km à pied jusqu'à Amsterdam (le plus gros défi de ma vie)

Rhythmic composition of moving photographs of cyclists in Amsterdam, ‘set’ to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

Nigella returns for a very special Christmas treat when she travels to Amsterdam to enjoy the festive season in the Venice of the North.

Documentary about fashion designer Fong Leng.

300 ans des 4 saisons de Vivaldi

Eighteen-year-old Sofie is looking for a room in Amsterdam. So she has to interview for them. Time and again she has to convince the residents of student houses that she is the most suitable candidate for the vacant room. The competition is fierce, the residents are ruthless. Who is accepted by the group, who is rejected? How far will the candidates go? And what does that process of judging and being judged do to Sofie?

Jay worked as a security guard at the door of Kanaal40, a bar located in the heart of Amsterdam's Warmoesstraat. At the threshold of the club, Jay found a sense of security: a space to express themselves and explore who they want to be. Even after the bar closed its doors, the experience continued to shape their life in deeply personal ways.

In 1917, French artist Marcel Duchamp declared everyday objects as art. A provocative act that sparked a heated, still topical discussion around the question: what is art? Since then, that question has been asked time and time again. To the artist and to the viewer. If everything is possible and everything is allowed, how do you remember what art is? Director Ditteke Mensink spent two years at De Ateliers: the breeding ground for top talent in the visual arts. Her stay ended in a harsh confrontation with herself, the young artists and modern visual arts.

Artist Chris Berens finds his inspiration in his own magical inner world. The animals and creatures that play a major role in his imagination also populate the landscapes he creates with his special painting technique. It results in scenes that are both enchanting and ominous.

We get up, go to work, eat and go to bed. Is our life about daily rituals or is there a deeper, more inscrutable meaning of life? Kjeld lives surrounded by nature in his small house and soon becomes a father. He seeks satisfaction in the simplicity of life in nature. Anna is a young artist looking for answers in her poetry and music. A philosophical documentary essay in which the search for the core of life is central. How should we live if there are no answers anywhere?

Kim and Bob have been inseparable since childhood. Does puberty end their friendship?

Rebellious City is a documentary about the Provo movement and the city of Amsterdam in the sixties.

The Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest), located between Amstelveen and Schiphol, was constructed during the years of economic crisis. In 1934, Amsterdam had 50,000 unemployed residents, who were put to work on the project as part of a government relief scheme. Annette Apon made this short documentary about the creation of the Amsterdamse Bos for the Amsterdams Stadsjournaal.

After a $30K film project went south, Isaiah had to make a risky decision to flip the idea upside down, and turn the train-wreck of a film into his own disaster-piece.

What if your house is no longer a home, but a bureaucratic nightmare? The residents of the Van der Pekbuurt in Amsterdam are fighting for a fair and sustainable renovation of their beloved working-class neighborhood. The houses are creaking and creaking, mold is rampant and it is almost impossible for the residents to get anything done when maintenance is in arrears. Cost savings are given priority, which is why the renovation plans are increasingly being stripped down. Will the Van der Pekkers succeed in enforcing a fair and sustainable renovation?

The film follows two colourful labour brokers, young Toon and old Toon. They speak candidly about their dubious practices and come across as surprisingly likeable. Yes, they profit from exploiting workers — but those workers are often more than willing to go along with the system. Ultimately, De koppelbazen asks who is truly responsible for these questionable practices.