Editor

The NPP is part of the Holland Film Meeting, organised by the Netherlands Film Festival for the 18th time until Monday 3 October. This year, 17 Dutch and foreign feature film projects in development were presented to a select group of international producers and financiers.

The Kodak Development Prize was presented during the seventh Netherlands Production Platform (NPP) to producers Reinier Selen and Edwin van Meurs of Rinkel Film & TV Productions and director Melinda Jansen for the feature film project WHITE WOMEN. WHITE WOMEN is a coming of middle age drama in which farmer Hendrik falls in love for the first time in his life at the age of 50. Under the suspicious eyes of the village and the close scrutiny of his meddlesome sisters, Hendrik struggles to win his beloved's heart.

The jury, made up of Robert de Vries (sales manager Kodak, cinema & TV division), Marten Rabarts (head of studies, Binger), Jan Verheyen (director/producer and distributor) and Vicky Serao (project development manager Fine BV) awards the prize to the film project "in recognition of its lightness of touch blending the truths of everyday lives with gently observed humor and humanity. The strength of the project is its deep roots set in the regional specificity of the Dutch province of Drenthe, a landscape in which to explore the universal themes of loss, love and personal choice."

Kodak awards the Development Prize (5,000 euro) with the aim of facilitating further financial development of the new project. The prize aims to support the work of producers committed to developing and supporting talent driven by story and artistic voice. It is awarded to recognize the clarity of vision and commitment to the specific project presented during the NPP by the producer and the creative team. The Dutch film projects from the selection made by the NPP were eligible for the prize.

Earlier, the projects THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS (producer Denis Vaslin of Volya Films, director Ineke Smits) and THE JOURNEY OF THE EMPTY BOTTLES (producer René Goossens of De Productie, director Karim Traïdia) were also shortlisted for the prize.