Three Dutch submissions for this year’s Oscars

Tue, Sep 8 - Tue, Sep 8  2015

For this year’s Oscars, there are several Dutch submissions selected by an independent committee of Dutch film professionals. The Paradise Suite, written and directed by Joost van Ginkel, is chosen as the official entry from the Netherlands for Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. In the category Live Action Short Film the short fiction film A HOLE IN MY HART (original title: Un Creux dans mon Coeur), directed by Mees Peijnenburg, has been selected. The short animated film (OTTO), directed by Job, Joris & Marieke, has been selected in the Animated Short Film category. 

About ‘The Paradise Suite’

In the film, the lives of six people, who seem to have nothing more in common than their faraway homelands, become inextricably linked in Amsterdam, the city they have chosen as their new home. “The Paradise Suite” is a profound and lyrical reflection on human resilience in the face of ongoing evil within 21st Century Europe, and is extremely relevant at the moment, in relation to current immigration problems in Europe.

About ‘A HOLE IN MY HART’

In this short film, nineteen-year-old Frenchman Henri is confronted with issues about the mortality and fragility of life following the loss of his brother in a road accident.
“Sometimes things happen that turn everything to silence. To the point that nothing makes sense anymore. As if everything got stuck.”

About ‘(OTTO)’

In (Otto), a woman who is unable to have children steals the imaginary friend of a little girl, and keeps this a secret from her husband. While the woman enjoys life with her imaginary child the gap between her and her husband grows bigger. When the little girl comes to claim back her imaginary friend, it’s the power of imagination that brings everyone together.
The Dutch committee were impressed by the film’s unique handling of a universal theme, the originality of the story and the very high degree of craftsmanship employed in its telling.