Directing
Apr 24, 1969
The Hague, Netherlands
Martin Koolhoven
Directing
Biography
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.
Feature Films (8)
Sextet is a film about love and relationships in Amsterdam. It features an ingeniously interwoven plot of several stories and characters. Together with the feature SIMON (2004) this one is part of Terstall's trilogy about the liberties of the present Dutch society.
SEXtet
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.
Bonkers
Thijs is a ripe-age Dutch tomato grower. His adult daughters plan to have him move in a skyscraper-flat, leaving home and professional life, but he takes his adolescent (half-)Moroccon grandson Omar's advice to refuse and keep living. Thijs even lets the cheerful rascal coach his love-life, which lands him on a blind date with Jacky, an energetic Flemish woman, who won't take no for an answer but turns up at his door-step till he consents, and soon drags him into evening life, preparing for a dance contest. Soon after Omar turns up, listless and lazier then ever, runaway from school and home. The obvious reason for the horny hound's hanging head is a girl: Mergal is foxy, Turkish and as smitten as he, but her burly big brother Erhan will only allow a boy to go steady with her who has proven himself his better on the field in the traditional manly sport of oil-wrestling. Now Thijs...
Happy Family
Television & Series (7)
Talk show hosted by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk containing a mixture of news, information, television bloopers and general entertainment.
De Wereld Draait Door
Koolhoven's view is a series of film lectures given by film director and cinephile Martin Koolhoven. Using scenes from his favorite feature films, Koolhoven shares his love for cinema with viewers. No dry critiques and academic treatises, but enthusiastic speeches and inspired observations: Koolhoven is above all an enthusiast.
De kijk van Koolhoven
A manless world, a nuclear missile on Amsterdam, a collective brainwash, and suffering as a recipe for success. Six filmmakers drag the viewer into their most terrifying fantasies.
