Netherlands-based producer and distributor Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) International is branching out into factual and kids’ content ahead of Mipcom. Clive Whittingham reports.
Voices of Liberation was made for Netflix and Belgian platform Streamz
Dutch FilmWorks was launched nearly 25 years ago as a video and, later, theatrical distributor in Benelux. It has since moved into the production of movies and TV series locally, and is currently behind My Best Friend Anne Frank, which is playing in Dutch cinemas and will be available on Netflix worldwide as of February 2022.
Now, as the physical television markets start to open up again – with Mipcom taking place in Cannes next week – the company is eyeing further expansion into kids and factual distribution.
Willem Pruijssers, the company’s CEO, says: “Five years ago we had started to produce local content for the foreign market. And then, with the streaming era coming around, we started delivering to Netflix and other companies worldwide. Since then, we’ve focused more and more on international markets, because you cannot live on Netflix alone, and we started an international sales division two-and-a-half years ago.
“You cannot focus on a genre in a small territory like Benelux. You have to develop in different arenas. Right now, we’re moving into factual production and distribution. It’s almost a personal thing because Dutch FilmWorks, 10 or 15 years ago, was big in international documentaries. We worked with BBC Earth, Nat Geo, History, Discovery and others. We have a big heart for factual entertainment.
Willem Pruijssers
“Docs are attractive because you can produce them more easily for the international market than a drama. It’s much easier than bringing a Dutch drama series to the US or elsewhere in the world. It was an important reason to go on this road. Normally these productions are only set up by broadcasters, but we’re putting our own money into developing them and reversing the traditional model.”
Dutch FilmWorks’ fledgling slate, which will debut in Cannes next week, includes Voices of Liberation (11×52’), which was produced by Czar Film & TV for Netflix and Belgian streamer Streamz. Presented by stars including Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen’s Gambit) and Christian Berkel (Valkyrie), it retraces the liberation route followed by the western Allies during the Second World War.
Also on the slate is The Art Dispute (8×45’), an eight-part documentary series on looted art. Originally commissioned by Dutch broadcaster Bnnvara, it is now available for pre-sales, having initially been delayed by eight months because of the Covid-19 production shutdown.
Hacked, which follows three teens who discover their phones have been hacked, is a 10×10’ young-adult series first commissioned by Streamz and Play4 and produced by Dingie. Silverstar, produced by 2C Film, is a film about horse dealing, while The Claus Family 2 is a Christmas movie produced by Dingie.
Ninjas Down the Street is about a pirate and ninja family living nearby in a close-knit community, while Bittersweet Sixteen, produced by Zodiak Belgium, follows teenager Lotte and her forthcoming birthday party.
Eight-part docuseries The Art Dispute
Last summer, Dutch FilmWorks took advantage of local cinemas reopening to release theatrical content when many other distributors were holding back for fear of low box-office takings. In summer 2020, the independent secured a 33% audience share at the Dutch box office as a result.”
On the television distribution side, however, the pandemic was “a bit of a shocker,” according to Pruijssers. As such, both he and Angela Pruijssers, Dutch FilmWorks’ VP of international sales and distribution, are looking forward to getting back out on the circuit.
Pruijssers says: “Internationally, it’s been tough without markets. It’s more difficult to reach people. People didn’t invest in movies as much. That’s been a bit of a struggle, and we’re looking forward to being back at Mipcom. We’re not a big studio; we need to be visible to people walking by who see the line-up.
“We really think actual presence at physical markets is necessary. We are seeing the decay from the digital markets. The first digital markets took us four days; the last one took one-and-a-half.
“We see it in the declining number of views at screenings. A year ago, we had the digital TIFF and the average viewing figure for our movies was about 150, which was approximately what you could expect from a physical market. At the last digital TIFF, we hardly reached 20 people. The air is going out of the digital markets.”
