NewFilmmakers LA featuring Dutch shorts in Cinema In Focus program goes virtual

Fri, Dec 11 - Sat, Dec 12  2020

NewFilmmakers (NFMLA) Film Festival Showcasing Dutch Filmmakers together with Middle Eastern and Arab Filmmakers, in Partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Virtually December 11th-12th, 2020

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) continue their tradition of presenting Dutch shorts from upcoming filmmakers, with a virtual edition of the annual NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) Film Festival InFocus: Middle Eastern, Arab & Dutch Cinema Festival, on Friday, December 11th and Saturday, December 12th 2020, powered by Seed&Spark.

The weekend will feature an international lineup of  films by talented emerging filmmakers across three short film programs. The event will include virtual screenings, filmmaker Q&A’s and industry panels.

The line-up will feature films from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iran, Israel, France, the Netherlands, and the US. The work, including two world and two North American premieres, comes from alumni of festivals including Sundance, Berlinale, Venice Film Festival, Locarno, Toronto International Film Festival and Raindance.  “In all three of these programs we are seeing a lot of stories that reflect on freedom and integrity, on an individual, communal, societal and global level,” says NFMLA Programming Director Bojana Sandic.

The program includes 2020 Student Academy Award Nominated crime drama Porfotto by director Edson da Conceicao and Marieke de Zwaan’s meditative So I Stay, this year’s winner of Go Short’s Academy-Qualifying Dutch Competition, asks us to ponder what we value in our world and how we find our place in it, as well as Suha Araj’s Rosa, which was produced through Tribeca and CHANEL’s Through Her Lens grant.

NFMLA and AMPAS have formed many industry-wide alliances and partnerships to support this initiative. Industry Delegates who will be meeting Festival filmmakers and participating in panels include Allison Wasserman at HBO, Mikey Schwartz-Wright at United Talent Agency (UTA), Brian Harvey at Amazon Studios, Timur Bekbosunov at ACE Pictures Entertainment (Come Away and Clemency), Sandino Moya-Smith at MGM Studios, Effie Brown at Gamechanger Films (Dear White People), Hilarie Holt at Sony Pictures Television, Niels Swinkels at Universal Pictures and Babacar Diene at Voltage Pictures (Redemption Day, Archenemy and Ava) among others.

“This is our third consecutive year of showcasing Middle Eastern, Arab and Dutch Cinema in partnership with the Academy, Dutch Culture USA and the Arab Film and Media Institute. It’s exhilarating to see these communities and organizations continually banding together to share global stories and exchange ideas between diverse artists. We appreciate the Academy’s commitment to inclusion and it’s always such a pleasure to work with their amazing team,” says NFMLA Executive Director and Co-Founder Larry Laboe.

Entertainment focused panels will take place on Friday, December 11th with film screenings and Q&As taking place on Saturday, December 12th. The day of programming begins with InFocus: Dutch Cinema, a collection of exciting work from up-and-coming Dutch short film directors co-presented by Dutch Culture USA (Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York) and curated in partnership with SEE NL. This year’s program asks us to ponder what we value in our world and how we find our place in it.

A full list of official Dutch selections is available below:

Shorts

Beautiful Alexander (Netherlands, Dir. & Writ. Marc Wagenaar)
Ink (Netherlands, Dir. Erik Verkerk & Joost van den Bosch)
Porfotto (Netherlands,Dir. & Writ. Edson da Conceicao)
Sad Beauty (Netherlands, Dir. Arjan Brentjes)
So I Stay (Netherlands, Dir. Marieke de Zwaan. & Writ. Rosanne Groenendijk)
Stuff (Netherlands, Dir. & Writ. Malu Jansen)

About NFMLA

Founded in 2007, NFMLA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. NFMLA’s programs annually serve approximately 25,000 patrons in the Greater Los Angeles area. NFMLA has screened over 3,000 films from 83+ countries, highlighting local and international talent.

Additional Festival details, tickets and passes are available at www.NFMLA.org/Dec2020