Film still of The Marriage Escape, featuring actors Herman Finkers and Johanna Tersteege
The Washington, DC International Film Festival (Filmfest DC) will present its 35th anniversary edition from Friday, June 4 through Sunday, June 13, 2021. Most of the festival will be presented virtually. This year’s selection comprises a lineup of 60 new Tilms from 35 countries over 10 days. The 2021 edition of Filmfest DC includes the Dutch 2020 film hit The Marriage Escape, directed by Johan Nijenhuis with a screenplay by comedian Herman Finkers.
When is love simply too much? The Marriage Escape is an entertaining blend of comedy and drama about an oppressed husband who comes up with an ingenious way to escape his stifling marriage. For 35 years Jan has been married to Gedda, who loves her husband so much that she smothers him. She picks out his clothing, his friends, his vacations, and all their other activities. Before he can grab a glass from the table, she has already given him one. In an attempt to claim some space, Jan concocts a plan to feign dementia and get himself checked into a psychiatric ward. Clutching the fragments of a marriage, The Marriage Escape cleverly reveals the human struggle against a love that goes too far.
In Dutch with English subtitles – Geo-blocked to DC, Maryland, and Virginia
Tickets are available for the virtual screening from June 9-13, 2021 by clicking on this link.
Johan Nijenhuis – credit Nijenhuis & Co
Producer / Director Johan Nijenhuis’s track record lists over 40 feature films and TV series. Halfway through high school, Nijenhuis travelled to LA as an exchange student, where he received training in journalism and film technique at the Birmingham High School. Nijenhuis has all the right intuition and talent for the stories and themes we all love to see. After the Amsterdam Filmacadamie, he directed, among others, Good Times, Bad Times, West Wind and ZOOP. His debut film was Costa! which was followed by Full Moon, Bennie Brat, Fuchsia the Mini Witch and Monkey Business. His feature films Loving Ibiza and Tuscan Wedding are among the greatest Dutch film hits of the recent years.
For 35 years, Filmfest DC has sought to keep pace with global culture and social activities, taking a special focus on issues of the moment in hopes of increasing clarity and civil discourse. Filmfest DC believes that good movies make the world a better place.