Rikkie Kollé, the most beautiful woman in the Netherlands (2023)

Regina - Queen of the Ring

Regina is a young feminist wrestler who fights men to become an international star. However, the true battle in wrestling takes place outside the ring – in the story team meetings.

On Lavender

A documentary that is a deep exploration of gender identity within the context of Greek society, providing a multi-layered narrative that reflects the experiences of individuals navigating the complexities of gender in a culture where these topics are still emerging. Over four years, the filmmakers captured intimate stories of people confronting their gender identities, revealing how personal, societal, and familial expectations shape their journeys. The documentary aims to challenge the traditional norms of gender and to give voice to those whose experiences are often marginalized. It marks a significant step in Greece’s cinematic exploration of LGBTQ+ themes and is a pivotal contribution to the global conversation on gender identity.

Man for a Day

Gender activist Diane Torr’s worldwide appearances and workshops are now legendary. For the past thirty years, the main focus of this performance artist’s work has been an exploration of the theoretical, artistic as well as the practical aspects of gender identity. Katarina Peters’ documentary observes a Diane Torr workshop in Berlin in which a group of open-minded women come together to discover the secrets of masculinity. What makes a man a man and a woman a woman? Precisely when and where is gender identity formatted? How much is nature and how much nurture? Each of Torr’s workshops represents an open-ended laboratory experiment in social behaviour in which the question is posed: is it possible to deliberately play out different roles and create a space in which to transgress both masculine and feminine characteristics?

Little Girl

7-year-old Sasha has always known that she is a girl. Sasha’s family has recently accepted her gender identity, embracing their daughter for who she truly is while working to confront outdated norms and find affirmation in a small community of rural France.

Strijdmakker

VPRO icon Wim Brands died on April 4, 2016. He was known to the general public as a presenter of the VPRO Boeken program and also closer, with six collections of poetry to his name. This documentary about his life and work, built entirely from archive material, pays tribute to this television personality. A portrait in which attention is also paid to his complicated relationship with death. With a.o. Karl Ove Knausgård, David Sedaris, Ellen Deckwitz and Pieter Boskma. Brands' work merges with his rich inner life and that he chose death at the age of 56 casts a shadow over everything.

What Makes a Woman

In What Makes a Woman, Munroe Bergdorf sets out to explore the changing world of gender and identity by way of her very own, very personal journey. Showing her in quiet, intimate, and extremely vulnerable moments. An honest insight into gender identity, Bergdorf prepares for a life-changing facial surgery, helping her finally picture herself as a woman.

Les filles c’est pas pareil

In this feature-length documentary, six teenage girls, aged 14 to 16, agree to open up and have their private worlds invaded by the camera. They have to face problems that they intend to take on "to the end": early experience of sexuality, belonging to a gang, relationships with parents, social tolerance, friendship... They live tender and pure lives in their own way.

Punks

The parents are at their wits’ end, so a temporary supervision order is the last hope for a group of teenagers in Punks. Now, on a remote farm in France, they’re going to have to get their lives back on track, with the help of a counselor. If they want any chance of a happy life, they need to engage in some frank and painful conversations. Mitchel has to find a way to get along with his father, but maybe too much has already happened since his mother died. Jahlano is already at the next stage: he’s no longer allowed to live with his mother, and needs to get over the disappointment. Mike, meanwhile, is struggling with his image as a boy who’s “got a screw loose.” Filmed in constant close-up by director Maasja Ooms, the teenagers try to tame their demons with music and therapy, but problems from the past keep resurfacing. In this intimate and sincere portrait, these troubled kids show us their most vulnerable sides.

Zembla - The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump Part 1: The Russians

For months, the FBI have been investigating Russian interference in the American presidential elections. ZEMBLA is investigating another explosive dossier concerning Trump’s involvement with the Russians: Trump’s business and personal ties to oligarchs from the former Soviet Union. Powerful billionaires suspected of money laundering and fraud, and of having contacts in Moscow and with the mafia. What do these relationships say about Trump and why does he deny them? How compromising are these dubious business relationships for the 45th president of the United States? And are there connections with the Netherlands? ZEMBLA meets with one of Trump’s controversial cronies and speaks with a former CIA agent, fraud investigators, attorneys, and an American senator among others.

American Reflexxx

American Reflexxx is a short film documenting a social experiment that took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Alli Coates filmed performance artist Signe Pierce as she strutted down a busy oceanside street in stripper garb and a reflective mask. The pair agreed not to communicate until the experiment was completed, but never anticipated the horror that would unfold in under an hour. The result is a heart wrenching technicolor spectacle that raises questions about gender stereotypes, mob mentality, and violence in America.

High Heels Revolution!

From a young age, Natsuki knew she was a girl despite her sex assigned at birth. Against the backdrop of conservative Japanese society, this poignant docudrama tells her remarkable story of gender transition. Reflecting on her high school years, Natsuki interviews the supportive friends and family who supported her choices – and also confronts the people those who oppressed her freedom. Tracing Natsumi’s story to the present, this compelling portrait of gender identity in contemporary Japan offers insights of a layered experience in a complex society.

The Red Pill

When a feminist filmmaker sets out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Movement, she begins to question her own beliefs. Chronicling Cassie Jaye’s journey exploring an alternate perspective on gender equality, power and privilege.

The Rembrandt Century: How Art Became Big Business

In the 17th century, the Netherlands experienced an unprecedented artistic explosion: painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals were so prolific that they were able to make a living from their talent alone; so much so that, within a prosperous society, thanks to wealth from overseas colonies and financial speculation, collecting works of art became a status symbol.

Transhood

Filmed over five years in Kansas City, this documentary follows four transgender kids – beginning at ages 4, 7, 12, and 15 – as they redefine “coming of age.” These kids and their families show us the intimate realities of how gender is re-shaping the family next door in a unique and unprecedented chronicle of growing up transgender in the heartland.

What Is a Woman?

Matt Walsh's controversial doc challenges radical gender ideology through provocative interviews and humor.

De Chinese keizerin

Despite the warm images in the family archive, photographer and filmmaker Jonnah misses an intimate bond with her (adoptive) parents. Over the years, a wall has been built between them that Jonnah is now trying to break down with her parents.

Every Body

Three intersex individuals overcame shame, secrecy and unauthorized surgery throughout their childhoods to enjoy successful adulthoods, choosing to ignore medical advice to conceal their bodies and coming out as who they truly are.

The Cockettes

Documentary about the gender-bending San Francisco performance group who became a pop culture phenomenon in the early 1970s.

Man Made

In Man Made, Sunny tries to find out what society's ideas regarding masculinity entails. Does testosteron define your masculinity? Can men be victims? And do men suffer under these ideas? In the twentieth century, feminists have fought for the freedom of women and subsequently their emancipation. Is now the time for the emancipation of men, are they next to be set free?

Venus Boyz

This intimate look into the real world of drag kings -- women exploring their masculinity -- crosses continents, traveling through drag king nightclubs from New York to London.

The Trans List

A documentary that explores the range of experiences lived by transgender Americans.

Blush: An Extraordinary Voyage

For 18-year-old Finnish–Kosovan Fatu, a simple visit to the grocery store feels as nerve-racking as a lunar expedition: for the first time in his life, he’s wearing makeup in public. Luckily his best friend Rai, a young woman on the spectrum of autism, is there to ferociously support him through the voyage.

This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous

A groundbreaking film that portrays the journey of Gigi Lazzarato, a fearless woman who began life as Gregory, posting fashion videos to YouTube from his bedroom, only to later come out as a transgender female. With never-before-seen personal footage, the film spotlights a family’s unwavering love for a child.

Mirror of Holland

In this short film Bert Haanstra gives his vision - from the water – of a tranquil Holland. During filming he held the camera upside down and afterwards put the images ‘up right’ again in the film. By doing this, we see the ‘usual’ waterfront, but transformed by the rippling of the water. In this way Mirror of Holland became a modern looking experimental film. However this did not devalue the Dutch sentiment regarding waterfronts that are so trusted to so many.

The Fabulous Ones

It often happens that at the moment of death, transgender individuals are shorn of their identity. Their families are ashamed, the funeral takes place in secret, and on the tomb appears the name the deceased had before their transition, in one stroke nullifying the entire life path they had chosen. The same thing happened to Antonia. Her girlfriends gather to honor her memory and give her back her identity denied. In telling her story, the film’s stars, all drawn from the variegated transgender world, interweave the narrative with tales of their own lives, experiences, and memories.

Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria

The first major uprising against police brutality, harassment, and societal oppression was not at Stonewall in 1969, but at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco three years earlier. Those who stood up were trans women and gay men. Now, nearly 40 years on, Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman tell the story of this oft-overlooked event in the history of American civil rights.

Between the Lines: India's Third Gender

Repping best view to date into the world of the Indian eunuch, “Between the Lines: India’s Third Gender” may not answer all the questions it poses, but helmer Thomas Wartmann provides an intimate glimpse at a community whose members are considered pariahs and conduits of supernatural force. Following shutterbug Anita Khemka in her quest to discover why these castrated men fascinate and repel, docu concentrates on three personalities and uses them as guides to their highly stratified world. Under its nautch skirts, film has strong enough legs to step out into international arthouses.

Casa Susanna

In the 50s and 60s, deep in the American countryside at the foot of the Catskills, a small wooden house with a barn behind it was home to the first clandestine network of cross-dressers. Diane and Kate are now 80 years old. At the time, they were men and part of this secret organization. Today, they relate this forgotten but essential chapter of the early days of trans-identity. It is a story full of noise and fury, rich in extraordinary characters, including the famous Susanna, who had the courage to create this refuge that came to be known as Casa Susanna.

Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric

Katie Couric travels across the U.S. to talk with scientists, psychologists, activists, authors and families about the complex issue of gender.

Born to Be

Soon after New York state passed a 2015 law that health insurance should cover transgender-related care and services, director Tania Cypriano and producer Michelle Hayashi began bringing their cameras behind the scenes at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, where this remarkable documentary captures the emotional and physical journey of surgical transitioning. Lending equal narrative weight to the experiences of the center’s groundbreaking surgeon Dr. Jess Ting and those of his diverse group of patients, BORN TO BE perfectly balances compassionate personal storytelling and fly-on-the-wall vérité. It’s a film of astonishing access—most importantly into the lives, joys, and fears of the people at its center.

Prince Consorts: In the Shadow of the Crown

No profession, no say, no freedom of expression. Life as a prince consort is not exactly pleasure taxing. No constitution ascribes any function to the husband of a queen. Nowhere does it say what he must or must not do. A life in the shadow of the crown. Can that go well?

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

Describing herself as a 'street queen,' Johnson was a legendary fixture in New York City’s gay ghetto and a tireless voice for LGBT pride since the days of Stonewall, who along with fellow trans icon Sylvia Rivera, founded Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), a trans activist group based in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. Her death in 1992 was declared a suicide by the NYPD, but friends never accepted that version of events. Structured as a whodunit, with activist Victoria Cruz cast as detective and audience surrogate, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson celebrates the lasting political legacy of Johnson, while seeking to finally solve the mystery of her unexplained death.

Invisible

From schools and offices to hospitals and streets, cleaners are working everywhere, tirelessly and modestly. They work hard and keep society running. Invisible confronts viewers with their own involvement and reveals the price paid for the appearances we cherish.

They and Them

At the age of 15, can you know if you ever want to conceive or give birth to a child? The team coordinator at the gender clinic in the Dutch city of Zaandam is doubtful. And yet this is one of the questions he asks the young people who register for psychological guidance. A fellow psychologist trusts that young people know what is good for them. He is a trans man and one of the experts by experience who work at the clinic. The use of language, already such a sensitive instrument, proves to be more complex than some expect. There are those who see it as unnecessary to mention your pronouns when you introduce yourself, but the majority are in favor. Director Ingrid Kamerling switches smoothly between observation and interviews. Above all, there is a sense of the need to equip young people and their parents as well as possible for the emotional journey of drastic change that lies ahead of them.

Will & Harper

When Will Ferrell's good friend Harper comes out as a trans woman, they take a road trip to bond and reintroduce Harper to the country as her true self.

From Beavis (M) to Beatrice (F)

A personal transgender documentary. From the time of coming out to the time of having sex reassignment surgery.

The Happiness Which I Live

Samantha Flores, an 87 year old trans woman dreams with creating a nursing home for elder LGBTTI+ community.

My Transparent Life

My Transparent Life chronicles the journey of one trans man, one trans woman and a trans couple as transition from the sex they were born with to the sex they identify with.

The Alexander Ball

The Alexander Ball is an observational documentary extravaganza celebrating Samoan-Māori-Australian trans woman of colour, Ella Ganza, and the Meanjin (Brisbane) ballroom scene, as she and her ballroom family prepare for one of the biggest pride events of the year: The Alexander Ball.

World War C

It's war. War against an invisible enemy that is not as deadly as we are told. The world is changing rapidly. Disproportionate measures are taken worldwide that disrupt society as a whole. A dichotomy in society forced vaccinations and restrictions on freedom. Have we had the worst? Or is there something more disturbing to awaiting us.

Traviatas

Samantha, activist and octogenarian; Morgana, soprano in her 30s and Victory, influencer in her 20s. Three trans women from three different generations who have managed not only to belong but to stand out in society.

L’Omerta, scandale de la pêche industrielle

Plot unavailable

Idak-Idak-Idak

Idak-Idak-Idak is a hybrid-documentary relating the stolen Lombok Treasures with the Sasak diaspora through three generations of women: a daughter, her mother, and her grandmother. Blending full-spectrum cinematography with personal footage, this film moves between Indonesia and the Netherlands to examine colonial legacies, displacement and healing the heart of home. In Sasak, "Idak" can be interpreted as both “heart” and “absence”, becoming a container for memory, loss, and the unseen layers of the self between generations.

Miss Universe in Peru

A documentary which shows the struggle of many women surrounding the Miss Universe 1982 pageant hosted by Peru. The government invested a large sum of money in this event, during a time the country suffered an acute political, economic and social crisis. On the other hand, we can appreciate the denigrating use of the women's image in publicity.

Queen of Hearts

The story of ten trans girls who form a co-op theatre to be able to stop working as prostitutes. The protagonists tell us their dreams, show their daily struggles and share their experiences and realities to be accepted and belong to society as well.