Holland Focus
@hollandfocus.co.uk
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François Ozon's excellent new film, which sees the prolific filmmaker tackling Albert Camus' most famous work, screens today at International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR. Our review:
The Stranger (François Ozon, 2025)
The Stranger is the prolific François Ozon's 24th feature film—an impressive figure, given that his first full-length movie, the queasy Si...
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February 1, 2026 at 1:13 AM
François Ozon's excellent new film, which sees the prolific filmmaker tackling Albert Camus' most famous work, screens today at International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR. Our review:
With International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR beginning on Thursday, we take a look back at one of last year's selections—Quentin Dupieux's entertaining, slippery film, which highlights the artifice of filmmaking. Our review:
The Second Act (Quentin Dupieux, 2024)
The prolific filmmaker Quentin Dupieux, whose movies include Rubber , Smoking Causes Coughing , Daaaaaalí! and Deerskin , has developed a h...
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January 26, 2026 at 8:58 AM
With International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR beginning on Thursday, we take a look back at one of last year's selections—Quentin Dupieux's entertaining, slippery film, which highlights the artifice of filmmaking. Our review:
With just one week to go until the start of this year's International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR, here's a quick look at several titles in competition:
IFF Rotterdam 2026: Four Films in Festival Competition
Yellow Cake (Tiger Competition) follows a group of scientists trying to eradicate the deadly Aedes aegypti mosquito—the vector of dengue fe...
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January 22, 2026 at 9:11 AM
With just one week to go until the start of this year's International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR, here's a quick look at several titles in competition:
International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR, which starts in just a few weeks, has announced its full programme:
International Film Festival Rotterdam (29/1/26–8/2/26)
IFFR 2026 will open with the world premiere of Providence and the Guitar by João Nicolau. Inspired by a short novel by Robert Louis Steve...
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January 5, 2026 at 10:12 AM
International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR, which starts in just a few weeks, has announced its full programme:
Happy New Year! Wishing you all a safe and happy 2026!
Happy New Year!
All the best for 2026 !
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January 1, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Happy New Year! Wishing you all a safe and happy 2026!
Merry Christmas! Have a great time over the festive season!
Season's Greetings!
Merry Christmas from H F 🎅 Please check out our films of the year list See you in 2026 !
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December 22, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Merry Christmas! Have a great time over the festive season!
This fine film, which is now 60 years old, has recently received a 4K makeover. Our review:
Winter Kept Us Warm (David Secter, 1965)
David Secter's 1965 feature debut, Winter Kept Us Warm , was the first English-language Canadian film selected for Cannes, appearing at the...
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December 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM
This fine film, which is now 60 years old, has recently received a 4K makeover. Our review:
The perils of unlicensed weight loss drugs are explored in this Christmas-set body horror. Our review:
Thinestra (Nathan Hertz, 2025)
Thinestra , the debut feature from Nathan Hertz, is a sly body horror that premiered at the 2025 edition of the Raindance Film Festival. Ho...
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December 11, 2025 at 9:19 AM
The perils of unlicensed weight loss drugs are explored in this Christmas-set body horror. Our review:
Next month, a major retrospective of David Lynch's work will take place in London, and you can watch the new documentary featured in this season on the NPO website (link in article):
David Lynch: The Dreamer (1/1/26–1/2/26)
The BFI have announced details for their January season, David Lynch: The Dreamer , at London's BFI Southbank and IMAX (1 January–1 February...
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December 4, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Next month, a major retrospective of David Lynch's work will take place in London, and you can watch the new documentary featured in this season on the NPO website (link in article):
This slight comedy follows two cousins who, after purchasing a second-hand sofa, find themselves struggling to transport it home. Our review:
Sofa, So Good (Kyle Thiele/Eli Thiele/Cole Thiele, 2024)
Sofa, So Good debuted at last year's edition of the Cleveland International Film Festival and has since enjoyed no less than three screenin...
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December 1, 2025 at 10:30 AM
This slight comedy follows two cousins who, after purchasing a second-hand sofa, find themselves struggling to transport it home. Our review:
The dates for #BFIFlare 2026 have just been announced:
BFI Flare 2026 (18–29/3/26)
The BFI today announced the dates for the 2026 edition of BFI Flare . The festival, which screens the best in contemporary LGBTQIA+ cinema ...
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November 25, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The dates for #BFIFlare 2026 have just been announced:
International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR has unveiled its first selections for its Cinema Regained programme. More info:
IFFR 2026: First Cinema Regained Titles Announced
International Film Festival Rotterdam has unveiled its first selections for Cinema Regained, IFFR’s realm for rethinking film history, whic...
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November 21, 2025 at 11:34 AM
International Film Festival Rotterdam #IFFR has unveiled its first selections for its Cinema Regained programme. More info:
Lucile Hadžihalilović's hypnotic new film stars Oscar winner Marion Cotillard. Our review:
The Ice Tower (Lucile Hadžihalilović, 2025)
Given that her career spans nearly 40 years, it is hard to believe that, prior to her remarkable new film The Ice Tower , Lucile Hadžihalilo...
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November 17, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Lucile Hadžihalilović's hypnotic new film stars Oscar winner Marion Cotillard. Our review:
Dutch director Bart Schrijver's new film has been shortlisted for the European Film Awards. More info:
The North (Bart Schrijver, 2025)
The North , the new feature film from Dutch director-producer Bart Schrijver, has been shortlisted for the European Film Awards. The film h...
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November 3, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Dutch director Bart Schrijver's new film has been shortlisted for the European Film Awards. More info:
Our final review from this year's #LFF is of a film centring on the Guinea-Bissau war of independence:
Those Whom Death Refused (Flora Gomes, 1988)
Bissau-Guinean filmmaker Flora Gomes' Those Whom Death Refused (original title: Mortu Nega ), which screens in a restored print on Saturday...
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October 17, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Our final review from this year's #LFF is of a film centring on the Guinea-Bissau war of independence:
Basque director Ion de Sosa's haunting, cryptic film will be screening tomorrow at the #LFF. Our review:
Balearic (Ion de Sosa, 2025)
Saint John’s Eve provides the backdrop for Basque director Ion de Sosa's Balearic , which screens tomorrow at the BFI London Film Festiva...
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October 13, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Basque director Ion de Sosa's haunting, cryptic film will be screening tomorrow at the #LFF. Our review:
Belgian actress Veerle Baetens stars in a new TV series, the first two episodes of which will screen today at the #LFF. Our review: www.hollandfocus.co.uk/2025/10/the-...
The Deal (Jean-Stéphane Bron, 2025)
The Deal is a six-part TV series that tells the story of the 2015 US-Iran nuclear negotiations, which took place in the very neutral state ...
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October 12, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Belgian actress Veerle Baetens stars in a new TV series, the first two episodes of which will screen today at the #LFF. Our review: www.hollandfocus.co.uk/2025/10/the-...
Galician director Óliver Laxe's searing new film is a highlight of this year's #LFF. Our review:
Sirāt (Óliver Laxe, 2025)
As with Galician director Óliver Laxe's previous film, Fire Will Come , his latest effort, Sirāt , will screen at the BFI IMAX as part of th...
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October 11, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Galician director Óliver Laxe's searing new film is a highlight of this year's #LFF. Our review:
Our #LFF coverage continues with a review of a documentary on eccentric neuroscientist John Lilly:
John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office (2025)
Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens' documentary John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office , which was selected for this year'...
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October 9, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Our #LFF coverage continues with a review of a documentary on eccentric neuroscientist John Lilly:
The #LFF gets underway today, and our first review from this year's festival is now up:
Fwends (Sophie Somerville, 2025)
Fwends , the debut feature from Australian filmmaker Sophie Somerville, follows twentysomething friends Em (Emmanuelle Mattana) and Jessie (...
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October 8, 2025 at 8:12 AM
The #LFF gets underway today, and our first review from this year's festival is now up:
This Belgian co-production depicts a budding novelist's often perilous journey through the underbelly of London. Our review:
Sebastian (Mikko Mäkelä, 2024)
Directed by the Finnish-British filmmaker Mikko Mäkelä ( A Moment in the Reeds ), this uneven Belgian co-production depicts a budding noveli...
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September 30, 2025 at 9:16 AM
This Belgian co-production depicts a budding novelist's often perilous journey through the underbelly of London. Our review:
Daniel Oriahi's film deals in familiar horror tropes as it delves into the complex dynamics of in-law relationships. Our review:
The Weekend (Daniel Oriahi, 2024)
The Weekend played at last year's Slash Film Festival and has since enjoyed no less than three screenings at the 2024 London Film Festival,...
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September 17, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Daniel Oriahi's film deals in familiar horror tropes as it delves into the complex dynamics of in-law relationships. Our review:
This starkly beautiful documentary follows the life of a young Orthodox nun. Our review:
Mother Vera (Cécile Embleton / Alys Tomlinson, 2024)
The legendary French director Robert Bresson had a profound relationship with spirituality that ran through his films, which often explored ...
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September 4, 2025 at 8:00 AM
This starkly beautiful documentary follows the life of a young Orthodox nun. Our review:
The winner of Best UK Feature at this year's Raindance is about to begin its theatrical rollout. Our review:
Row (Matthew Losasso, 2025)
Matthew Losasso’s feature debut Row received its world premiere at the 2025 Raindance Film Festival, where it proceeded to win the award f...
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August 20, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The winner of Best UK Feature at this year's Raindance is about to begin its theatrical rollout. Our review:
Chantal Akerman's final narrative feature is an exemplary meditation on the death rattle of colonialism. Our review:
Almayer's Folly (Chantal Akerman, 2011)
Almayer's Folly , directed by the late Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman and first released in 2011, is a highly atmospheric and contemplati...
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August 13, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Chantal Akerman's final narrative feature is an exemplary meditation on the death rattle of colonialism. Our review: