It's Dutch Design (2019)

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.

Maija Isola, Master of Colour and Form

A film about Maija Isola, the designer of Finland’s most beloved fabrics. Her bold designs, which include classics like Unikko, Kivet, Kaivo and Melooni, were essential in creating Marimekko’s lifestyle universe. The film shows the secrets to the success of Maija Isola’s fabrics, the values at the heart of Isola’s globetrotter lifestyle, and the legacy she left us. The film is narrated by Maija Isola, as well as her daughter Kristina Isola. It takes us close to Maija as a person, artist, thinker and visionary through her letters. We also hear Armi Ratia’s thoughts on Isola both as an employee and as a friend.

Chun

A short documentary about Chun, who lives in Vienna.

Helvetica

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.

Eindeloos Gepest - Het Verhaal van Nora, Tren en Anne-Ruth

Three young people look back on their plague past and the dark valley in which they ended up. They dare to talk openly about how they found the resilience to turn their lives around.

Art & Copy

The personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of all time and the stories behind their campaigns.

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.

Objectified

A feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

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?

Graphic Means: A History of Graphic Design Production

Up until just over 30 years ago, when the desktop computer debuted, the whole design production process would have been done primarily by hand, and with the aide of analog machines. The design and print industries used a variety of ways to get type and image onto film, plates, and finally to the printed page. Graphic Means is a journey through this transformative Mad Men-era of pre-digital design production to the advent of the desktop computer. It explores the methods, tools, and evolving social roles that gave rise to the graphic design industry as we know it today.

Pressing On: The Letterpress Film

Why has letterpress printing survived? Irreplaceable knowledge of the historic craft is in danger of being lost as its caretakers age. Fascinating personalities intermix with wood, metal, and type as young printers save a traditional process in Pressing On, a 4K feature-length documentary exploring the remarkable community keeping letterpress alive.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

Destroyed in a dramatic and highly-publicized implosion, the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex has become a widespread symbol of failure amongst architects, politicians and policy makers. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in America, and the city centers in which they resided, while tracing the personal and poignant narratives of several of the project's residents. In the post-War years, the American city changed in ways that made it unrecognizable from a generation earlier, privileging some and leaving others in its wake. The next time the city changes, remember Pruitt-Igoe.

Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf

Viewers are immersed in revolutionary landscape designer Piet Oudolf’s work and given an insight to his creative process, from his beautifully abstract sketches, to theories on beauty, to the ecological implications of his ideas.

Tinkebell - Who Killed the Blue Bird?

Artist Katinka Simonse, alias Tinkebell, is a controversial, very mediagenic phenomenon. In her universe there is no distinction between life, art and activism; Tinkebell is her own work of art. Everything she encounters on her life path can become part of her story. Filmmaker Judith de Leeuw was given access to all images about Tinkebell, including her entire private archive. She thus constructed an archive film about how as a human being, living on the ruins of the past, you can be a character in your own story. What is the price you can afford if you continue to believe at any cost?

Rams

RAMS is a documentary portrait of legendary designer Dieter Rams by filmmaker Gary Hustwit. For over fifty years, Rams has left an indelible mark on the field of product design with his iconic work at Braun and Vitsoe, and his influence on Apple. So at 86 years old, why does he now regret being a designer? RAMS is a design documentary, but it’s also a rumination on consumerism, materialism, and sustainability. Dieter's philosophy is about more than just design, it’s about a way to live. The film also features an original score by pioneering musician Brian Eno.

Bauhaus Spirit: 100 Years of Bauhaus

Founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, Bauhaus was supposed to unite sculpture, painting, design and architecture into a single combined constructive discipline. It is a synthesis of liberated imagination and stringent structure; cross-medial concepts that embellish and enrich our existence, illumination and clarity, order and playfulness. But Bauhaus was never just an artistic experiment. Confronted with the social conditions of that particular time, as well as the experience of WWI, the movement concerned itself with the political and social connotations of design from the very outset. Hence, Bauhaus history is not just the history of art, but also the history of an era that stretches from the early 20th century to the modern day.

Urbanized

A documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.

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.

Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life

Deeply thoughtful and illuminating, DRAWING A LIFE reveals the details of artist Geoff McFetridge’s life and work while delving further into the universal questions of what makes a fulfilling life and how to live with intention in the limited time we all have.

Mother's heart

“Job is 2 meters tall and has been my baby for 58 years. I will continue to care for him as long as I can,” says 91-year-old Tineke about her severely disabled adult son. But how long can she keep that up and who needs who: Job Tineke or Tineke Job? A documentary about the limits of motherhood.

Dans le vent

Short subject on how fashion is created-- not by the great couturiers, but on the street.

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)

In 1968, art students Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell made a trippy photo collage for their musician friends Syd, David and Roger. The resulting album and album cover, A Saucerful of Secrets, helped launch two careers: that of Pink Floyd, one of the 70s megabands, and of Hipgnosis, which, over the course of the next 25 years, designed a stream of iconic album covers.

Design Is One

As artists and visual architects, husband and wife Massimo and Lella Vignelli have been producing unique and groundbreaking work as brand designers. This up-close documentary reveals their major influence in reshaping our visual environment.

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.

Village without school

Griendtsveen, a picturesque village in the Peel on the border between Limburg and Brabant, is in danger of losing its primary school De Driehoek. The school, which has been the beating heart of the village for years, is about to close its doors. Documentary maker Ellis Smulders follows the teachers and parents who are determined to keep their school, if necessary by forming the school board themselves. Will they succeed in preserving the core of the close-knit village community, and thus the soul of the village?

The betrayal of Hilversum

Documentary about the role of public broadcasting during the German occupation during the Second World War. A number of public broadcasters adopted a cooperative approach, allowing them to be used as a propaganda apparatus for the Nazis. An attitude with very far-reaching consequences.

Gray Matters

Gray Matters explores the long, fascinating life and complicated career of architect and designer Eileen Gray, whose uncompromising vision defined and defied the practice of modernism in decoration, design and architecture. Making a reputation with her traditional lacquer work in the first decade of the 20th century, she became a critically acclaimed and sought after designer and decorator in the next before reinventing herself as an architect, a field in which she laboured largely in obscurity. Apart from the accolades that greeted her first building –persistently and perversely credited to her mentor–her pioneering work was done quietly, privately and to her own specifications. But she lived long enough (98) to be re-discovered and acclaimed. Today, with her work commanding extraordinary prices and attention, her legacy, like its creator, remains elusive, contested and compelling.

Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story

Nicknamed “Architect to the Stars,” African American architect Paul R. Williams had an incredible life. Orphaned at the age of four, Williams grew up to build mansions for movie stars and millionaires in Southern California. From the early 1920s until his retirement 50 years later, Williams was one of the most successful architects in the country. His clients included Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. His name is associated with icons like the Beverly Hills Hotel, the original MCA Headquarters Building and LAX Airport. But at the height of his career Paul Williams wasn’t always welcome in the restaurants and hotels he designed or the neighborhoods where he built homes, because of his race. “Hollywood’s Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story” tells the compelling, but little known story, of how he used talent and perseverance to beat the odds and create a body of work that can be found from coast to coast.

Design ist niemals unschuldig

Immersion in a world of contemporary design in search of more virtuous practices. In Helsinki, German designer Julia Lohmann uses seaweed to create dyed garments; in Amsterdam, Marjan van Aubel creates objects powered by organic photovoltaic cells; in London, the Superflux duo develops futuristic installations to alleviate potential food shortages.

Spitfire: The Birth of a Legend

‘Spitfire— Birth of a Legend‘ tells the story of the Spitfire from a radical design on the drawing board to the fighter aircraft that became the symbol of Britain’s determination to fight on to victory. It celebrates the history of this acclaimed aircraft, the men who designed and built it, and those who flew and fought in it. The story, along with dramatic archive and colour film of aerial combat, graphically illustrates the appeal and fascination the Spitfire has maintained since it faced and fought the fighter and bomber formations of the Luftwaffe.

Legal weed 2

Frans Bromet follows several cannabis growers who have been selected by lottery as the first suppliers of legal cannabis. Sequel to the 2021 documentary 'Legal Weed'. Ten growers have been selected by draw as the first legal cannabis growers for an experiment that would last four years. These are large companies where a lot of money is spent to enable large-scale production of cannabis. But the actual experiment still hasn't been fully rolled out. Only in a few cities is legal cannabis available in coffee shops. The biggest problems that growers and sellers face are supply stocks and the complexity of the track and trace system. Every movement of the weed must be registered. And that is almost impossible with a failing computer system. The future of the experiment remains highly unpredictable four years after its announcement.

Rikkie Kollé, the most beautiful woman in the Netherlands

Rikkie Kollé will be the first trans woman to be crowned Miss Netherlands in July 2023. In addition to praise, 22-year-old Rikkie receives a remarkable amount of misunderstanding and hate reactions about herself. Fortunately, they have only strengthened her mission even more: being an example for young trans people and normalizing gender diversity. In a unique documentary, Miss Netherlands is followed on her way to the world stage in El Salvador where she is making a bid for the title of Miss Universe, with all the work, obligations and preparations that entails.

Chair Times

"Chair Times" charts a course through an ocean of chairs. In the focus are 125 objects from the Collection of the Vitra Design Museum. Arranged according to their year of production, they illustrate development from 1807 to the very latest designs straight off the 3D printer, forming a timeline to modern seating design. The film features many people whose vocations involve design and who are experts in the field, such as designers Hella Jongerius, Antonio Citterio and Ronan Bouroullec, architects and collectors Arthur Rüegg and Ruggero Tropeano, architect David Chipperfield, Director Emeritus of MAK Vienna/Los Angeles Peter Noever, Mateo Kries, Director of the Vitra Design Museum, Vitra Design Museum curators Amelie Klein, Jochen Eisenbrand and collection curator Serge Mauduit. And your guide through the history of chairs is Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman Emeritus of Vitra.

The UFO's of Soesterberg

In the early morning of February 3, 1979, a giant black triangular object flew over Soesterberg Air Base. At least twelve soldiers witnessed this bizarre spectacle.

Sex, Drugs & Bicycles

The documentary that answers the question: is having month-long double paid vacations, no fear of homelessness, and universal health care the nightmare we've been warned about? The answer may surprise you.

Arne Jacobsen’s Modern Denmark

Danish documentary about the disobedient schoolboy with a talent for painting, who became one of Denmark’s greatest architects. His ideas were ahead of their time and often received criticism, but today, 50 years after his death, Arne Jacobsen's schools, town halls and libraries are still with us, and they define modern Denmark.

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.

Genius Loci: Carlo Scarpa and the Olivetti store

An examination of the Olivetti store in Venice, Piazza San Marco -- a true icon of Italian architecture of the twentieth century restored in the 1950s by Carlo Scarpa.

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.

Teekay The Salto King

Rapper and breakdancer Teekay from Eindhoven is known for his somersaults and vlogs that are causing a stir. During the corona riots in 2021, he not only gained national fame as a vlog reporter, but also ended up briefly in jail. After his junior year, Teekay wants to change course and, above all, be an example for other young people. In the film he takes us into his life and talks about his childhood in foster homes, the mistakes he made and about his dreams. What is Teekay looking for?

Endless bullying - Daan's story

This moving documentary tells the story of Daan, a cheerful and talented boy who left life at the age of sixteen after a school career in which he was systematically excluded. Former classmates organize a reunion to investigate how things got to this point. They discover that many other students also felt unsafe in the classroom. Meanwhile, Daan's sister Julia, who, like Daan, loves theater, is working on her self-confidence. And Daan's group of friends, where he could finally be himself, looks back on the time they spent with him.

Aspen, 1970

A compilation of conferences/debates between renowned designers, environmental activists, and students on the concept of design. Held in Aspen, Colorado, USA.

Rietveld Houses: A piece of furniture to live in

In 2024, the iconic Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Gerrit Rietveld designed and built the house in close collaboration with his secret lover and creative partner Truus Schröder. Rietveld himself did not build his houses for eternity; he thought a life cycle of 50 years was sufficient. But the current owners of houses designed by Rietveld think differently about this. They pull out all the stops to renovate and preserve their Rietveld houses.

Super Design

SuperDesign is a film about 19 players of the Italian Radical Movement. Through their words and their stories, we retrace the history and the heritage of the movement. They take us back to that time when everything seemed possible.

Le Corbusier

Making a documentary on Le Corbusier is not easy, because he is undoubtedly the architect most familiar to the general public but also the most unknown. If most people know his great achievements, such as the Cité radieuse of Marseille, the pavilions of the Cité universitaire de Paris or the Tourettes convent, many are unaware of his works in Moscow, Rio de Janeiro or Chandigarh. Roy Oppenheim pays a vibrant tribute to Corbusier, dismissing the criticisms and darker facets of the character. It presents the career of this pioneering architect, as well as his thinking, the essential principle of which was aimed at the development of human beings and the balance of society. Light, space and greenery are integrated into his large futuristic cities, because according to him the eyes of the inhabitants should be drawn into the distance and not into their neighbor's bathroom.