My love for family films from the Netherlands began in the late 1990s when the company I was then working for, Mediamax/Les Productions la Fête, picked up Penknife, the first film from Bos Bros. Back then, Burny Bos had the vision to source intelligent films for kids, content that was grounded in reality and with a lot of international appeal. He was one of the founding fathers of the genre, and is one of the reasons why Dutch family films enjoy such strong appeal now, both at home and internationally.

Burny and many other like-minded Dutch producers championed the genre from the very start. They looked at their own home-grown literature, isolated the best children’s books and made them into movies. They saw the importance of creating magic for family audiences and they embraced multiculturalism, so that the stories had as much resonance internationally as at home.

What’s more, the Netherlands has a constant supply of emerging filmmakers who believe in the genre and its continually widening scope, quality and appeal – talents like Mischa Kamp, Boudewijn Koole and (Flemish!) Vincent Bal, and so many excellent child and adult actors. In addition, to make excellent family films you need money, and successive Dutch governments have been very supportive of the genre. They have constantly studied what governments are doing elsewhere (such as in Scandinavia) in order to invest public funds more wisely, as well as nurture and expand their national cinema.

My favourite film in our catalogue has to be Minoes, the story of the cat that turns into a woman who helps a journalist expose corruption in his town. It was made in 2001 but even now it is still selling. In 2011 it even received a late theatrical release in the US, and the same Japanese distributor has recently renewed the contract after its expiry. I was also happy to supervise its dubbing into French for both France (Disney, M6) and for a theatrical release in Quebec.

Winky’s Horse (Mischa Kamp, 2005), The Horror Bus (Pieter Kuijpers, 2005) and Fuchsia the Mini-Witch (Johan Nijenhuis, 2010) have also been very popular internationally, including distribution in North America. And Boudewijn Koole’s Kauwboy (2012) – what a surprise! This children/arthouse piece has now sold to more than 20 countries including a theatrical run in France, Spain and probably soon in Argentina! Good family films can be addictive and evergreen.

In Berlin we have two films in Generation, Finn by Frans Weisz and Lourens Blok’s A Christmoose Story. For me, Finn was blind love. I didn’t know much about it when I committed to it but I have been working with the producers for over 10 years and have full confidence in them. I love the story of a boy who loves music, like Billy Elliott who loves dance. It’s not that often you see music depicted in good family movies, so I was intrigued right away. And I have always admired the films of Frans.

With A Christmoose Story, pets + kids’ is what we do. When you have a giant pet who works for Santa, who is not quite a reindeer and who is careless, and who talks like a big shot, what else do you need? I certainly found people who would agree with me as the film was presold to Germany (as a Dutch remake of a German novel/film!) and France long before it was finished...

In conclusion, our addiction to Dutch family cinema is long-term and works on a mutually beneficial basis. With my China connections (the world’s second largest film market) and our sister production company Attraction Image (which is a leader in French Canada) as well as with numerous associate producers, it is my wish to help Dutch producers cross their borders and produce even bigger family films. The sky is the limit! We’ll find our ‘Nemo’, as I like to say.