7 November - 2019
Yesterday evening, the 40th edition of the Noordelijk Film Festival was festively opened in Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie Leeuwarden. The audience was first overwhelmed by the small but great drama Nei de Dûns, which had its world premiere as a pre-film before the Swedish SWOON. Director Rutger Veenstra won the Filmkick Competition in 2018 with his film plan and was able to realize his film with the prize money. The Frisian protagonists Jan Arendz and Marijke Geertsma, together with the entire crew, received flowers and a big applause in the sold-out Aegon room. After the opening words of director Jacqueline Schrijver and chairman Rimmer Mulder, the room was littered with a flower shower and people could enjoy the official opening film SWOON.
In his speech, Rimmer Mulder briefly looked back at 40 editions of the Northern Film Festival. “It started at this same place in the old Harmonie in 1976. It was the initiative of a group of film enthusiasts who thought that there should be such an event in Leeuwarden where you can immerse yourself for days in that beautiful medium of film”. After the warm and nostalgic retrospect, Mulder also spoke proudly about how the festival innovates and appeals to new generations: “Let the development of the festival be an inspiration for all those people in Friesland who have a passion for some form of culture and there want something with “. There is also room for an important and critical note in the end of his speech: “In certain political circles, there is talk of the cultural sector with some dedain as a the Very Hungry Caterpillar that always wants more subsidy. Well, Mr. De Rouwe “I can assure you that the cultural sector is working very hard. That spoiled sector could well be the industry with the most unpaid overtime!” says a combative Rimmer. An applause followed.
Until Sunday
The next four days there is a large selection of beautiful films with a strong Nordic Focus, but there is much more to experience. With more than 150 films and around 25,000 visitors annually, it is one of the largest and oldest regional film festivals in the Netherlands. Special highlights include the ode to Pieter Verhoeff in the presence of, among others, Monic Hendrickx and Peter Tuinman, the Dutch premiere of A Certain Kind of Silence in the presence of cast and crew and the daily live talk show -the Filmcafé- with various national and international guests.
