Tim Fransen: Het Failliet van de Moderne Tijd(2016)

Theo Maassen: Ruwe Pit(nl)

Maassen won two of the biggest comedy contests in the Netherlands in 1990, the Groninger Studenten Cabaret Festival(GSCF), and Cameretten. The GSCF jury was not pleased with the quality of the contestants that year, and gave Maassen the first prize, remarking he was the best of the year, but still not very good. In the following years, however, Maassen fame grew steadily, especially amongst students. Maassens style was based on stand-up comedy: Alone on stage, telling jokes and stories to amuse the public, without any musical support (a thing common for most Dutch comedians up to that point).

Return(tt)

"Behind every strong man is a strong woman!", Mumine shouts as her husband is arrested. She has 4 children, she's in her mid-30s, and she's the wife of a Crimean Tatar political prisoner. Muslim Crimean Tatars have been oppressed for a long time. They were deported under Stalin, allowed to return under Gorbachev, and since the occupation of Crimea in 2014 under Putin, they are being persecuted again. "Return" is a portrait of Mumine and Maye, two strong women struggling with the consequences of oppression. Their traditional understanding of their role as women does not stand in the way of their dedication. They possess strength, beauty and dignity. Only in their most intimate moments, they are overwhelmed by desperate helplessness.

RETURN(ja)

8mm work directed by Norihiko Morinaga.

Return(en)

After reading an article about hypnotic regression, a woman whose maternal grandfather died when she was only three years old contacts the hypnotic subject named in the article believing that he is the reincarnation of her grandfather, and hoping that she can learn the truth about how he died.

Return(en)

A young man returns home for the weekend to discover the difficulty of juggling friends, parents, magic mushrooms and several thousand chickens.

Bad(en)

Hazel runs a beauty salon out of her house, but makes extra money by providing ruthless women the oppurtunity to perform hit jobs. L.T. is a parasite, and contacts Hazel looking for work after he runs out of money. She is reluctant to use him for a hit, since she prefers using women, but decides to try him on a trial basis. Meanwhile, the cop she pays off wants an arrest to make it look like he's doing his job, but Hazel doesn't want to sacrifice any of her "associates". The sleazy side of life is explored in this delightfully dark and deadpan film.

Return(hy)

Eyüp decides to cross mount Ararat looking for his aunt in Yerevan after following a madman's words. His aunt has also been expecting someone to come from behind this mount for many years. Eyüp cannot be sure about the woman he finds behind the blue door, whether it is his aunt or not because they can't understand each other.

1(hu)

A bookshop renowned for its rare works is mysteriously and filled with copies of a book entitled 1, which doesn't appear to have a publisher or author. The strange almanac describes what happens to humanity in a minute. A police investigation begins and the bookshop staff are placed in solitary confinement by the Bureau for Paranormal Research. As the investigation progresses, the situation becomes more complex and the book becomes increasingly well-known, raising numerous controversies. Plagued by doubts, the protagonist has to face facts: reality only exists in the imagination of individuals.

Return(en)

A tale of terror. Cathy Reed has been institutionalized most of her life because of Schizophrenia, as a child her parents thought she was possessed by demons and had her exercised by priests. Medical science saw different. Now decades later Cathy is freed, relocated to her own flat and given a chance to be independent. Once alone things are not what they all seem and when her nightmares turn real she questions her state of mind before she is left to face her demons.

Return(en)

Return is a methodical construction of the approach of an individual towards an unseen goal, which assumes metaphorical significance. Viola moves toward the camera/viewer, pausing every few steps to ring a bell, at which point he is momentarily thrust back to his starting place, and then advanced again. Finally reaching his destination, he is taken through all of the previous stages in a single instant and returned to the source of his journey.

1(ja)

NULL(en)

A hitman is tasked to take out ex-mobsters when he suddenly hears a voice that questions his morality.

Return(en)

Owen, a young man is dissatisfied with his life. He heads into the forest to escape and learns a lot during his time there.

Return(en)

A single man has worked most of his life in a supermarket. One night, he unexpectedly meets with his father, and the two are faced with the question of the reasons for their separation.

The Forbidden Legend: Sex & Chopsticks 2(cn)

Rich and powerful Simon Qing has been schooled in the ways of sex by his virile father, but is still a virgin. That is, until he meets his first love Violetta who has fun with him all over his father’s estate. Their love does not last, so Simon embarks on a journey. Along the way he meets the comely nun Moon whom Simon deflowers and then marries. He then becomes enamored of Golden Lotus but she is married to dwarf Wu Da-Lang.

Return(fr)

Avatar Spirits(en)

Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creators of the hit television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, reflect on the creation of the masterful series.

Return(en)

Static images of an old country house are combined with voices of the past to evocative effect. Haunting and nostalgic, 'Return' conveys the life that exists in old, abandoned places.

Darkland: The Return(da)

Seven years ago, Zaid went to war against the Copenhagen underworld to avenge his dead brother. His identity as a respected doctor of cardiology and life as a family man is but a fading dream, and in prison Zaid suffers the loss of his son Noah, whom he barely knows. When a police agent approaches Zaid and offers him a deal to be released in exchange for infiltrating the Copenhagen underworld, he sees his chance to reclaim the remnants of the family life he left behind. But everything has a price, and Zaid realizes that he has now seriously endangered his son's life. After all, once you become part of the underworld, is there any way out?

1(en)

Early morning silence is broken by screeching tires as a helicopter bears down on a speeding vehicle. Taking a quick corner, the team tumbles out into the woods as their car pulls away. Now they must make their way through the thick of nature and thick gunfire to accomplish their mission. Not a single word of dialogue is spoken throughout the entire film. Instead, the music, sounds, images and deeply truthful acting turn a simple plot into an intense experience. Passion and intrigue keep building to the very end.

Youp van 't Hek: Met de kennis van nu(nl)

Youp van 't Hek looks back on his early years as a comedian. Of course, with the more than 40 years of knowledge and experience that he has acquired in mind. But secretly it is mainly about his current life, now that he is 65 years old. Van 't Hek puts things into perspective, with the necessary self-mockery.

Maarten van Rossem: Eindejaarsconference 2013(nl)

Dutch Comedian Maarten is at it again for the 2013 Year Review - his last one.

Daniël Arends: Meer van hetzelfde (Deel 1)(nl)

Paulien Cornelisse: Om Mij Moverende Redenen(nl)

In her fourth comedy special the Dutch comedian Paulien Cornelisse talks about uncertainties and indistinctnesses in life.

Peter Pannekoek: Later Was Alles Beter(nl)

With the world changing faster than ever, comedian Peter Pannekoek shares his thoughts about power, evolving gender relations and the times ahead.

Urbanus: Beter 10 Krisis In De Lucht Dan 1 In Ons Land(nl)

Micha Wertheim: Somewhere Else(nl)

The bigger the audiences for Dutch comedian Micha Wertheim’s shows became, the less he had to do to make them laugh. In one early show, he suggested that the audience would be better off without him. So in 2016, he acted upon this suggestion with an experiment that made theater history: he wasn't physically present onstage but somewhere else. The audience wasn't aware of this in advance, though they did get a hint in the form of a pre-recorded "live" radio interview from a remote studio. "I see my audience as my children," Wertheim says in this interview. "You have to educate them, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 15 years. At first you have to constantly be there watching them, but there comes a time when you have to trust them to get on with it without you." With some help from a robot, a printer, a stereo and a set of headphones, the members of his audience were able to make their own performance.

Youp van 't Hek: Gebroken glas(nl)

Registration of the matinee performance written by the Dutch comedian Youp van 't Hek, commissioned by Toneelgroep Centrum.

Kees van Amstel: De man die ik niet wilde worden(nl)

Arjen Lubach & Tim Kamps: Het Monica Da Silva Trio(nl)

Registration of the theatre program by the Dutch musical comedy duo Het Monica Da Silva Trio (Tim Kamps and Arjen Lubach).

Daniël Arends: Joko 79(nl)

Silvester: Het Recht Van De Sterkste(nl)

Micha Wertheim: Someone Else(nl)

This comedy/theatre show is the sequel to 'Micha Wertheim: Somewhere Else'. This second show starts exactly where the first show ended: in the same theatrical scenery, with the same robot. But this time Wertheim surprises his audience by showing up. He tells about how the first experimental comedy show was received and contemplates about the magic of theatre and art in a society about the right to exist of art in a society that allows less and less doubt and confusion. When Robot falls into a depression, the boundaries between theater and reality begin to blur.

You are being listened to(nl)

Award-winning artist Wim Helsen proves in his fifth theater performance that he not only has deep, absurd thoughts, but is also a good listener.

Hans Teeuwen: Smerige Spelletjes(nl)

The Dutch comedian Hans Teeuwen gradually loses his sense of reality when he has to stay inside because of the "intellegent lockdown" during the COVID-19 pandemic. He recorded a corona comedy special at his home.

Micha Wertheim: Voor Alle Duidelijkheid(nl)

Micha Wertheim asks himself and his audience how to live and survive in a gloomy future perspective. Populism seems to have been taken for granted by both right-wing and left-wing parties. Racism, sexism, anti-Semitism seem to be increasing. The planet is dying. The factory farming industry is still booming. We have reached a dead end and we are standing with our noses against a blank wall. All we can do now is turn around to see how we got here, with our backs against the wall.

Veldhuis & Kemper: We Moeten Praten(nl)

Registration of the fifth theatre program by the Dutch musical comedy duo Veldhuis & Kemper. The show explores the differences between men and women.

Veldhuis & Kemper: De Geur Van(nl)

Veldhuis & Kemper: Hitsig(nl)

Javier Guzman: Oorverdovend(nl)

In his stand-up show 'Oorverdovend,' Javier Guzman finds humor in such serious topics as his rough childhood, intolerance and our drifting society.