Cannes: EYE International Boosts Dutch Cinema

Dutch film promotion organization EYE Intl. has arrived in Cannes with a new director who is wasting no time in putting the international spotlight on Dutch cinema.

Marten Rabarts (pictured) replaced Claudia Landsberger at the helm of the agency in March. Formerly head of development and training at the National Film Development Corp. in India, Rabarts is well immersed not only in the local industry but also in far-flung markets around the world where Dutch cinema continues to make an impact.

Formerly known as Holland Film, EYE Intl. markets, promotes and seeks to increase the global visibility of Dutch films while also facilitating market access for Dutch filmmakers.

Rabarts cites recent Dutch films such as Paula van der Oest’s foreign-language Oscar shortlist contender “Accused” and Peter Greenaway’s Berlinale screener “Eisenstein in Guanajuato” as evidence of “the robust good health” of the Dutch industry. He is now working closely with the local industry to “put Dutch film in the international spotlight where it belongs.”

“When creative talent is empowered to build healthy relationships with equally talented people in the film business arena, everyone benefits,” he says.

The new EYE Intl. topper is also working closely with colleagues at the Netherlands Film Fund and the Netherlands Film Commission in presenting Dutch cinema — not only the country’s films, but also its production incentives, its locations, its festivals and, most importantly, its talent.

“It’s the whole package that deserves attention,” he says, pointing out that the country boasts a global outreach as Dutch producers co-produce projects around the world with support from the national funding system.

Holland, says Rabarts, is a hub of international film production, and “its spokes reach out to Buenos Aires or Manila just as easily as they do to Brussels or Paris.” Dutch producers regularly work with the likes of Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov and Argentinian helmer Lisandro Alonso, collaborating successfully on award-winning works.

Culled from Variety