Dutch

Playing outside the boundaries of drama and documentary, this adventurous self-portrait of a 20-something artist and dancer asks the question, “if you could star in the film of your life, how would you rewrite the script?”

Halina Reijn’s astonishingly assured directorial debut tensely interrogates the fantasises of a veteran therapist (Carice van Houten, Game of Thrones), whose attraction to a sex offender patient escalates into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game.

Defying family expectations and maternal norms, 63-year-old hairdresser Lou travels to start a new life abroad, settling on the Spanish port city of Cádiz, where adventures in language and friendship await.

A charming and sensitive all-ages drama that explores life’s lightness and gravity with uplifting emotional depth. Winner of a special mention from the Berlinale Generation KPlus’ adult jury, and the NYICFF Grand Prize Feature Film Award.

Exciting young director Mees Peijnenburg and ace cinematographer Jasper Wolf (Monos; Instinct, NZIFF20) immerse us in the gritty world of a trio of disadvantaged Dutch youths en route to Marseille, where either hope or failure awaits.

A young paedophile’s return to society is calmly explored in Belgian director Patrice Toye’s powerful, thought-provoking new film. Based on Inge Schilperoord’s controversial novel Muidhond.

Those with a voracious appetite for fresh variations on the zombie genre will lap up this juicy Belgian horror comedy about a virus outbreak in a run-down hospital offering cheap cosmetic surgery to desperate clients.