The Dutch Film Festival kicks off today in the city of Utrecht and will screen 423 feature films, shorts and documentaries over the coming ten days.

The event will open on Wednesday evening with the premiere of The Gang of Oss, which tells the story of a woman struggling to free herself from the clutches of a violent criminal gang in the southern town of Oss in the 1930s.

In all, the festival’s 31st edition will see the premiere of 103 films. Last year the festival drew a record 154,000 visitors. This year’s guest of honour is producer Frans van Gestel (Love is All, Black Book, Code Blue).

Eighty-two films have been selected to compete for a Golden Calf, festival director Willemien van Aalst said. The jury is being led by Laetitia Griffith, a former politician for the pro-business VVD party and a self-declared movie buff.

The Golden Calves will be awarded at the festival’s closing gala on Friday, 30 September.

(cl/jric)

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