Sexwork, Love & Mr Right

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

December 2004 •English

Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.

Haven, Roaming Through the Night

November 2004 •Dutch

Nocturnal life in the partly deserted dock area of Amsterdam. Director Marjoleine Boonstra encounters lone wolves, leading secluded lives in makeshift shelters, and people that work as pilots, night watchmen or skippers. According to a young pilot `it was actually like a dream', working by the IJ river at night. And this is what it looks like: a dream world. Between interviews, Boonstra makes her camera glide through the area, along the quay, across the water, along cranes, containers and sea-going vessels. A world of lamps, reflections and shadows. In this landscape of stone and metal, an extraordinary group of individuals lives and works. For example, an English woman cleans up a submarine for a party, a refugee from former Yugoslavia has created a place for himself and a night watchman has to `see to it that that boat stays where it is'. Peaceful music emphasises the relative quiet, in which the interviewees reflect on their lives and the harbour.

The Re-Up

November 2012 •English

A backstage and on-stage look at Nicki Minaj's career during the Pink Friday Tour, festivals, and more.

Virgin School

May 2007 •English

Virgin School follows the emotional and physical journey of 26-year-old virgin James as he embarks on a unique four-month course for sexually inexperienced men in Amsterdam

De Platoschool

March 2023 •Dutch

The Platoschool was founded in Amsterdam in 1983, a primary school for parents who wanted more than just math and language for their children. The founders of the Platoschool had great ideals, ideals that the parents of documentary maker Yara Hannema fell in love with. The children would grow into special people with a high level of consciousness, but the teachers ran wild in their strictness and discipline. There was beating and abuse of authority. The school was discredited and had to close its doors in 2002.

Beppie

December 1965 •Dutch

BEPPIE is a moving and disarming portrait of an Amsterdam street urchin. Van der Keuken once described her as follows: 'She was ten years old and the joy of the Achtergracht, where I was living at the time. An Amsterdam child, sweet and crooked as a corkscrew.' He films her while she skims the city with some friends and knocks at strangers' doors. Her family has nine children and is not well off. In those days, a visit to the De Miranda swimming pool cost a quarter, but only ten cents if the weather was bad. At school, Beppie gets a poor mark because she is too boisterous, but when the whole class rattles off the multiplication tables, she joins in at the top of her voice. All of TV-watching Holland was wildly enthusiastic about this portrait, with which Van der Keuken even made the front page of the national newspaper De Telegraaf.

The Way South

January 1981 •Dutch

Johan van der Keuken went against the grain in 1980: from Amsterdam (on April 30 with the coronation riots and squatting actions) via Paris, southern France and Italy to Egypt. He made his personal travelogue in three parts for VPRO television. Later, he fused the three parts into one long movie.

Sexwork & Me

January 2012 •English

21st century legal prostitution through the frank stories of Amsterdam red-light district sex workers at a time when tighter regulation threatens their livelihood.

Swimming with Wings

October 2023 •English

A short animated documentary exploring the immigration experience through the eyes of children learning how to swim with clothes on in the Netherlands.

The Hole’s Journey

February 2021 •Arabic

A worn-out floor, the hole underneath, a political activist, and the Ouled Sbita tribe are the protagonists in this political satire. For 23 years, the director’s chair at an international art institute scratched the wooden floor. This 102cm x 120cm floor section is cut out and sent to an expropriated piece of land in Morocco. In The Hole’s Journey, Ghita Skali uses sharp wit, personal stories and playful editing to touch on specific power dynamics and freedom of choice.

Fall 2

March 1970 •English

Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.

The Virgin Trade Sex, Lies and Trafficking

April 2006 •English

An investigation into the nature of the sex trade in Thailand.

Ein deutscher Boxer

September 2012 •German

Embassy of the Free Mind

December 2024 •English

UNESCO Memory of the World: Explore the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica’s new home with 25,000+ rare books on alchemy, hermetica & mysticism at the Embassy of the Free Mind museum, set in Amsterdam’s historic canal mansion, the House with the Heads.

Hans, Life Before Death

January 1983 •English

Hans: Het Leven voor de dood (Hans, Life Before Death) is a documentary feature film about the life of the young composer Hans van Sweeden (1939-1963) and those who knew him intimately. The film is about the harrowing life of the musician, poet and actor Hans van Sweeden (1939-1963), who ended his life at the age of 24. Simultaneously, the film offers a poignant portrait of his contemporaries in the turbulent fifties and sixties and the children of the Nazis. It won the Golden Calf for Best Feature Film in 1983. Award of the Dutch film critics, 1983; the Belgian film critics Award, 1984; Best Dutch Documentary 1980-1990. (Wikipedia)

Wild Amsterdam

March 2018 •Dutch

The city from the unique perspective of the many wild animals and plants that inhabit it. Seen through the eyes of the adventurous urban cat, Abatutu.

De verkrotte droom

May 2025 •Dutch

What if your house is no longer a home, but a bureaucratic nightmare? The residents of the Van der Pekbuurt in Amsterdam are fighting for a fair and sustainable renovation of their beloved working-class neighborhood. The houses are creaking and creaking, mold is rampant and it is almost impossible for the residents to get anything done when maintenance is in arrears. Cost savings are given priority, which is why the renovation plans are increasingly being stripped down. Will the Van der Pekkers succeed in enforcing a fair and sustainable renovation?

Dance Iranian Style

September 2015 •English

A documentary film crew follows a young Iranian girl, Roya, after her request for asylum was denied and is forced to enter an illegal life on streets of Amsterdam. The film crew follows her from a distance trying not to intervene, no matter what occurs to her.

Nigella’s Amsterdam Christmas

December 2023 •English

Nigella returns for a very special Christmas treat when she travels to Amsterdam to enjoy the festive season in the Venice of the North.

Scootmobiel

March 2024 •Dutch

Frans Bromet follows scoot drivers of different ages about their lives. He talks to them about what has changed since they got a mobility scooter, about how their living space has increased, about the limitations of the vehicle and about what is and is no longer possible in private.