Director: Martin Koolhoven

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Birthday: 1969-04-25
Born in: The Hague, Netherlands
Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Martin Koolhoven (born April 25, 1969 in The Hague) is a Dutch film director and screenwriter. Born as Martinus Wouter Koolhoven, Koolhoven graduated from Dutch film school in 1996 and almost immediately made an impact on the Dutch film industry with his 53 minute television film Duister Licht ("Dark Light") in which the slaughtering of a pig was shown. The film was nominated twice at the Dutch Film Festival. It was his next (and first feature length) film however that established his name, also outside of the Netherlands. Suzy Q (also made for television) became the most awarded Dutch film of 1999 and established both Koolhoven's career and that of actress Carice van Houten, who Koolhoven worked with several times in the films to come. His first film for the cinema, AmnesiA, got a small theatical release in New York. Koolhoven started off with strongly stylized films that were all hailed by the critics, but never gained commercial success. In 2005 that changed when he went into the mainstream with Schnitzel Paradise, that not only got him rave reviews (both inside and outside the Netherlands), but was the highest grossing Dutch film of that year. The film was shown at many international film festivals (amongst them the Berlin Film Festival and the Karlovy Vary Film Festival where it was part of the Variety Critic's choice.) The film was sold to more than 20 countries, which is a remarkable amount for a Dutch film. In the same year Koolhoven released Bonkers, which internationally became his most awarded film and performed well at the box office. He also was the first director to have two films in the Dutch box office top 20. "n Beetje Verliefd (2006) (Happy Family) was his third hit film in two years time, earning him another Golden Film. It was followed in 2008 by Oorlogswinter (Winter in Wartime), a Dutch movie based on the hit novel by the same name, written by Jan Terlouw, which went platinum. The movie was praised by almost all critics (including Variety that wrote a raving review) and was an enormous succes at the box office, being the number one movie at Christmas 2008 in The Netherlands. Winter in Wartime grossed more money than all previous movies Koolhoven made together. The movie outgrossed competing movies like The Dark Night and Twilight and was the Dutch entry for the Academy Awards. It made the shortlist of 9 movies, but failed to get nominated. The movie is being distributed in the United States by Sony Classics. Description above from the Wikipedia article Martin Koolhoven, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Brimstone

In the menacing inferno of the old North-American West, Liz is a genuine survivor who is hunted by a vengeful preacher for a crime she didn’t commit.
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7.2
Brimstone
Winter in Wartime

During World War II in the freezing winter of 1944-45 the western Netherlands are in the grip of a famine. Many people move east to provide for their families. Fourteen year old Michiel can't wait to join the Dutch resistance, to the dismay of his father, who, as mayor, works to prevent escalations in the village.
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6.7
Winter+in+Wartime
Winter in Wartime

2008

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Suzy Q

A weekend in the life of a bizarre family in the sixties. Their lives will never be the same after it.
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5.8
Suzy+Q
Bonkers

Bonnie, a nine-year-old single child, is part of a family of three living in the Netherlands. They have a love of elephants, passed on by Bonnie's grandfather's grandfather who worked on a game reserve in Africa, and Bonnie feels that she instinctively does things like an elephant as a result. Her single mother, Lis, is bi-polar and at times spends days on end without even getting out of bed. Then there are other times when she will manically do wild acts, such as impromptu dancing in public. As a result, Bonnie's sturdy and stable grandmother must hold the family together by doing all the cooking, etc. After her grandmother is killed by a car, Bonnie becomes the most responsible family member and struggles with preparing meals and getting her reluctant mother to take her medication. She also must dodge Jorien, a social worker who is attempting to place her in a foster home.
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6.8
Bonkers
AmnesiA

Alex, a 28 year-old photographer, is no longer able to photograph people, for some mysterious reason. Every time he focuses his camera on someone, the same woman appears in his viewfinder - an image he cannot bear. When his brother Aram, whom he has not seen or spoke to for years, unexpectedly phones him and asks him to come to their parental home because their mother is severely ill and may not have long to live, he panics. The thought of a confrontation with the area where he grew up and the renewed encounter with his family makes him feel nervous. Nevertheless, that evening he leaves for AmnesiA: the estate of his parents, the spot where he spent his youth.
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5.6
AmnesiA
The South

Martje is the manager of a successful laundry service, but in her personal life she struggles with her self-image after the amputation of one of her breasts. After she is humiliated when Loe, one of her employees, is startled by the discovery of her prosthesis during foreplay, she imprisons him in the laundry plant. As Loe is slowly dying in imprisonment, Martje loses contact with reality and starts imagining having a family with him.
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3.9
The+South
Schnitzel Paradise

Schnitzel Paradise is a Dutch film about a young Moroccan man working in the kitchen of popular Dutch restaurant.
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5.8
Schnitzel+Paradise
Schnitzel Paradise

2005

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