Halls of local film festivals are full, the Dutch Film Fund is opening its doors to productions from non-European regions, and Caribbean film talent is growing rapidly. What seemed like a dream 15 years ago for filmmakers from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom seems to be slowly becoming a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Films from the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom are also attracting increasing attention outside the islands themselves. The Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico, for instance, showed a selection of five Dutch Caribbean and Surinamese short films in October. The Cura\u00e7ao short film Sunny (2025) by director, screenwriter and producer German Gruber even screened at Tribeca in New York, and, according to Gruber, even played more often in the Netherlands than in Cura\u00e7ao.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gruber has witnessed these developments up close. About 20 years ago, he decided to study at the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU), in order to gain knowledge to make films in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. At the time, there was no film infrastructure on the islands, and Gruber actually liked that. \u201cThe idea of having to settle into an industry was harder for me than the filmmaking itself. So I thought: maybe we can make our own style here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His graduation project and first short film, E leyenda di Buchi Fil (The Legend of Buchi Fil), which tells the story of the Antillean legend about the strongest slave who ever lived, came out in 2008. \u201cThe idea of, you are really going to make a film that will be shown in a theatre, that was really a dream at that time,\u201d he says.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A year later, when Buchi Fil won Best Short Film at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (TTFF), this dream suddenly became a reality and Gruber met more people from the Caribbean \u201cwith small cameras but big ambitions,\u201d which inspired him to develop further in the film world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, he also ran into financial challenges. Opportunities for the then Netherlands Antilles to apply for subsidies in the Netherlands were scarce at the time. Indeed, to apply to the Netherlands Film Fund for a feature film, documentary or feature-length animation with the fund, the producer had to have produced at least one film that played in cinemas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCura\u00e7ao filmmakers don't have that,\u201d says Eloise van Wickeren, then location manager and current film commissioner of Cura\u00e7ao. \u201cWe do have cinemas here, but that's not what they mean by a theatrical release. Those criteria were very much focused on Dutch producers. And we couldn't meet that yet.\u201d So in practice, that meant always collaborating with a Dutch producer, but then the work \u201cwould never really be ours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this Dutch connection and thus the language barrier also made co-producing with makers from other Caribbean or South American countries difficult. \u201cWe were also unable to apply for grants from other institutions internationally, because they saw us as part of the Netherlands,\u201d explains Sulin Passial, owner of the Cura\u00e7ao production company Pantalla Chica Productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNonetheless, we always had ambitions and we always made films,\u201d says Passial, although it was often very complex to get the financial picture right. For instance, the producer says she once worked on a documentary for five years, because it was a challenge to scrape together sponsorships each time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you don't have the equity, then you depend on sponsorship. And all the creatives on Cura\u00e7ao, they fish in that same sponsorship pond,\u201d Van Wickeren stresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gruber's first feature, Sensei Redenshon (2013), was therefore a no-budget film, made with some financial help from private sponsorship and in collaboration with former classmates from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2013, more filmmakers started itching. So director and producer Dolph Van Stapele initiated Tula: The Revolt (2013), a feature film filmed on Cura\u00e7ao about a slave uprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was actually a bit of an eye-opener for the rest of the community,\u201d Van Wickeren explains. \u201cThe film community was not very large and active at that time, but Tula showed that we could therefore just shoot a feature film on Cura\u00e7ao.\u201d Similarly, the script of Double Play (2017) came off the shelf again after a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To bring more structure to the local film sector, the Cura\u00e7ao government appointed Eloise van Wickeren as the island's first film commissioner in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the same period, the Cura\u00e7ao International Film Festival (CIFF) also got off the ground at the initiative of the Fundashon Bon Intenshon foundation and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2012 \u201cthe festival has been a catalyst for local filmmakers,\u201d says festival director Michael Elias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Islanders seem to be getting more interested in films: many of the festival's screenings are well-filled, and now a local production team organises the festival without outside expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, the festival also motivates local talent to pick up the camera. \u201cAlso in terms of the programme, we are increasingly seeing a shift towards what is made locally,\u201d Elias adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From around 2020, the year Black Lives Matter demonstrations spread across the Netherlands, calls for diversity and decolonisation grew in Dutch society, and with it the film industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou see more and more documentaries being made that deviate from the white mainstream norm. Where black makers and other non-white makers are getting opportunities, taking chances, creating opportunities to make their films and tell their stories,\u201d Emiel Martens, lecturer-researcher Postcolonial Film Studies at the UvA and founder of Caribbean Creativity, a non-profit organisation that programs and promotes Caribbean films in the Netherlands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, diverse Dutch audiences have been attending Caribbean film evenings more often, and Caribbean makers are regularly invited to events to screen and discuss their films. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past five years, therefore, the Dutch-Caribbean film world has gained considerable momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of lobbying by Van Wickeren, Elias and local filmmakers and producers, the Film Fund adjusted its criteria in 2021. \u201cThey now have special consultants who are specifically put on applications from the Caribbean Netherlands,\u201d Van Wickeren says. These consultants give Caribbean Dutch filmmakers extra guidance with their applications. And with success. \u201cI think there are about three projects running at the Film Fund now,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2024, the CIFF also has a new competition Caribbean Focus, especially for filmmakers from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, Suriname and the Diaspora. The winning films in this category will also be shown at the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico and Film by the Sea in Vlissingen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFilm industry is still a big word,\u201d thinks Elias, but he looks hopefully at recent developments. \u201cI would say it is the beginning of a film climate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the same year, Cura\u00e7ao opened the Krioyo film festival, which focuses purely on Papiamento-language films. \u201cThe halls are always full,\u201d says Van Wickeren. Especially the older generations are interested. \u201cYou see that they very much need films in which they see in their own language and their own people, in which they can recognise themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also sees that more and more local short films are being produced. \u201cThe fact that this festival exists, that also gives more motivation for local filmmakers to make short films. Because otherwise what is the purpose, if you can't screen it anywhere here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A big help in making these short films is the also 2024-based Studio Caribe. This Film Fund incentive scheme guides filmmakers from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom with workshops and individual coaching in making a short film, from development to production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Film Fund created this scheme when they noticed that besides a lack of opportunities for funding, there was also a knowledge gap on the islands. \u201cThere were also makers who knocked on our door but did not meet our criteria,\u201d explains Monique Ruinen, head of film operations at the Film Fund. \u201cIf that happens a few times and at the same time you see that those might be people with talent, then you start thinking about other ways in which all the talent that is there in the Dutch Kingdom gets a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, there are only two producers in Cura\u00e7ao with enough experience to submit a regular application to the Film Fund: Sulin Passial and Michel Drenthe. \u201cHopefully, more producers will eventually emerge from this track to submit in order to further develop the islands\u201d film community,\u201c says Passial. \"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were almost 60 applications for the first edition of Studio Caribe, \u201cwhich says something about the enthusiasm and talent that is actually there,\u201d Ruinen believes. Twelve of these projects were selected for the development process, half of which will also be supported in their actual realisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The growing number of Dutch and foreign productions on Cura\u00e7ao are also pushing the envelope. These productions usually have bigger budgets and more experience, which also creates more jobs on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou see now that more and more people can earn their daily bread in the film industry. But that was really not the case ten years ago. It was mainly a hobby that people did alongside their dayjob,\u201d Van Wickeren said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Wickeren is also working on developing a small local film fund, because Dutch funds will also always continue to ask for ownership. \u201cIf your own government doesn't support you, why should the Netherlands?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So although Dutch Caribbean cinema has developed considerably in recent years, challenges remain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGetting picked up by a distributor, that actually still almost never happens,\u201d Martens says, for example. When Caribbean films are shown in the Netherlands, it is mainly one-off screenings, \u201cthat is mainly done by non-profits, like Caribbean Creativity, but also other organisations, with specials that fall outside regular distribution ,\u201d Martens explains. \u201cBecause distributors still often think: there won't be a big enough audience for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the Dutch Caribbean film world is still very fragmented. Developments are mainly concentrated in Cura\u00e7ao, while there is certainly a lot of talent and interest in Aruba as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the filmmakers themselves are steadily pushing forward. \u201cAt some point, we ourselves also have to start seeing how we can grow,\u201d Gruber stresses.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From a virtually non-existent film infrastructure to packed festival halls and international projections, thanks to ambtious Caribbean filmmakers, a growing interest in diversity and new grant and educational opportunities, Dutch Caribbean Cinema has made impressive leaps in the past 15 years.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1278,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Vera Sistermans schrijft: \"Ook buiten de eilanden zelf trekken films uit het Caribisch deel van het Nederlands Koninkrijk steeds meer aandacht. Zo toonde het Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico in oktober een selectie van vijf Nederlands-Caribische en Surinaamse korte films. ","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15614,4762,11687],"tags":[16508,15587,4265,16507],"class_list":["post-100531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beleid","category-film-3","category-donatie-gevraagd","tag-caribisch-nederland","tag-curacao","tag-iffr","tag-mexico"],"views":808,"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101119,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/04\/koninklijk-paar-brengt-werkbezoek-aan-pennsylvania-washington-d-c-en-florida-programma\/","url_meta":{"origin":100531,"position":0},"title":"Royal Couple pays working visit to Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and Florida - programme","author":"een van onze leden","date":"3 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Zijne Majesteit de Koning en Hare Majesteit Koningin M\u00e1xima brengen een werkbezoek aan de Verenigde Staten (VS). Zij bezoeken van maandag 13 april tot en met woensdag 15 april 2026 Philadelphia in de staat Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. en Miami in de staat Florida.\u00a0De betrekkingen en de onderlinge Transatlantische band tussen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":101140,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/04\/pilot-subsidieregeling-voor-monumentale-woonhuizen-in-caribisch-nederland\/","url_meta":{"origin":100531,"position":1},"title":"Pilot subsidy scheme for monumental residences in the Caribbean Netherlands","author":"een van onze leden","date":"8 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Caribisch Nederland krijgt een pilot subsidieregeling voor de instandhouding van monumentale woonhuizen. In september 2026 kunnen eigenaren subsidie aanvragen om hun monument te restaureren. De regeling heeft een eenmalig budget van 1,1 miljoen dollar. Het Nationaal Restauratiefonds stelt dit geld beschikbaar. Met deze pilot wordt praktijkervaring opgedaan voor toekomstig monumentenbeleid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91612,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2023\/08\/faizah-grootens-corpus-criolla-verrijkt-moderne-dans-met-onmisbare-caribische-vibes-op-tfboulevard\/","url_meta":{"origin":100531,"position":2},"title":"Faizah Grootens: Corpus Criolla enriches modern dance with essential Caribbean vibes on #TFBoulevard","author":"Wijbrand Schaap","date":"11 August 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Ik selecteer dansers heel zorgvuldig. Ik doe geen audities. Ik geloof er niet in dat iemand zich moet bewijzen voor de anderen. Dus daarom doe ik er best lang over om te kiezen met wie ik wil werken.\u00a0 Als ik die persoon kies, dan gaan we er 100% voor. No\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boulevard"","block_context":{"text":"Boulevard","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/service\/specials\/boulevard\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"pr-beeld door David van Delden","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/corpuscriolla.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/corpuscriolla.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/corpuscriolla.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":99442,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2025\/11\/minister-gouke-moes-bezoekt-bonaire\/","url_meta":{"origin":100531,"position":3},"title":"Minister Gouke Moes visits Bonaire","author":"een van onze leden","date":"3 November 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Minister Gouke Moes (Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap) bezoekt Bonaire van 4 tot en met 6 november 2025. Dit bezoek staat in het teken van het Ministerieel Vierlandenoverleg OCW (M4LO) en biedt ruimte voor kennismaking met het Caribisch deel van het Koninkrijk.Op dinsdagavond 4 november wordt minister Moes ontvangen door gezaghebber\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Logo van het ministerie van OCW","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Logo_ministerie_OCW.svg_.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Logo_ministerie_OCW.svg_.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Logo_ministerie_OCW.svg_.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Logo_ministerie_OCW.svg_.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Logo_ministerie_OCW.svg_.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96754,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2025\/03\/subsidietoekenning-voor-podia-268-miljoen-euro-voor-programmering-en-publieksverbinding\/","url_meta":{"origin":100531,"position":4},"title":"Stage grant award: \u20ac26.8 million for programming and audience connection","author":"een van onze leden","date":"12 March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Fonds Podiumkunsten awards a total of \u20ac26.8 million in grants to 136 venues for the period 2025-2029. With the podium scheme, the Fund supports the presentation of professional performing arts offerings across the country. The production grant enables 51 venues to (co)produce and invest in talent development. Stages in the Netherlands...","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Beeld-Podiumregeling-1-.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Beeld-Podiumregeling-1-.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Beeld-Podiumregeling-1-.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":90163,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2023\/03\/raad-voor-cultuur-zet-ontwerpkracht-in-voor-vernieuwing-cultuurbestel\/","url_meta":{"origin":100531,"position":5},"title":"Culture Council deploys design power for renewal of cultural system","author":"een van onze leden","date":"15 March 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Culture Council will be given room to elaborate on the renewal of the cultural system from 2029. State Secretary Uslu of Culture and Media has asked the council to issue an opinion on this before the end of this year. \"As a council, we can't wait to answer this question together with the...","rel":"","context":"In "ACTUEEL"","block_context":{"text":"ACTUEEL","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/nieuws\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3yKke-q9t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100531"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100699,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100531\/revisions\/100699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}