Dutch Romantic Comedy ‘Taste of Love’ Boarded by DFW International (EXCLUSIVE)

The demands audiences make of cute-dog films are fairly basic. Is there a dog? And is she cute?“Dog” — can’t beat that title! — delivers on those two essential pillars.

Not since Abbott and Costello in Buck Privates in 1941 and Lewis and Martin in At War With the Army in 1950 has a film raised greater concern about who they’re letting into the military these days than does Dog. Although he certainly possesses the requisite physique, Channing Tatum’s Army Ranger Briggs most of the time seems like such a screw-up that you’d definitely want him on the other guy’s team. The power of this Dog lies in its half-canine/half-human buddy comedy, which is genial enough, even if its aim is scatter-shot and its comic tone decidedly hit-and-miss.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian director Matteo Garrone, who was at the 2020 Berlinale with Roberto Benigni-starrer “Pinocchio,” is set to return to the director’s chair in March with coming-of-age adventure drama “Io Capitano,” on which France’s Pathé will be handling international distribution.Garrone’s new pic, whose title translates as “I, Captain,” will be shot in Italy, Morocco and Senegal, marking the first time, Garrone –– a two-time Cannes jury prize-winner, with “Gomorrah” in 2008 and “Reality” in 2012 –– sets a feature film outside of Italy.As is customary with Garrone, story details of “Io Capitano” are being kept under wraps, besides the fact that he wrote the screenplay with regular collaborators Massimo Gaudioso and Andrea Tagliaferri and actor Massimo Ceccherini (“Pinocchio”), who also contributed to the “Pinocchio” screenplay.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorDutch-Caribbean teen documentary “Shabu” has debuted an exclusive clip, ahead of its screening at Berlin Film Festival on Monday. Reservoir Docs is handling world sales, except for Netherlands, Belgium and France.The film, directed by Aruban-Dutch filmmaker Shamira Raphaëla, world premiered at IDFA, winning the best youth documentary award, and also played at Rotterdam Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. International Television Production has revealed the lineup for its annual WBITVP Formats Showcase, taking place March 3 at the BAFTA headquarters in London, featuring in-person and live streamed interviews with creatives, broadcasters and talent.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorGlobal Screen has secured a presale of the female-led drama “Lost Transport” to Menemsha Films for the U.S. and Canada ahead of the European Film Market in Berlin.Inspired by true events, the film tells the story of the final days of World War II when German soldiers abandon a deportation train, leaving the fate of its occupants in the hands of advancing Russian troops.

AMSTERDAM -- Video of Dutch troops overseeing the torching of houses in an Indonesian village plays in one room of the Rijks Museum's new exhibition, while a few meters away, a baby's clothes sown from book covers — the only scraps of cloth the mother could find — are laid out.The exhibits cast into stark relief two different elements of suffering as part of the Dutch national museum's new exhibition “Revolusi! Indonesia Independent” that presents a multifaceted view of the violent birth of the Southeast Asian nation from the ashes of World War II and three centuries of colonial rule.The exhibit of baby clothes "doesn’t show the violence directly, but it’s this indirect impact of the violence that’s been shown by these objects,” the museum's director, Taco Dibbits, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The conflict is shown through the eyes of 23 witnesses ranging from a young Indonesian boy with a box of water colors covertly painting troops movements in his hometown to famed photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson's iconic images of President Sukarno being sworn into office at the sultan's palace in Yogyakarta on Dec. 17, 1949.Among the exhibits are paintings, propaganda, video and photographs of the tumultuous transformation of the Dutch East Indies into Indonesia.The show is part of the national museum’s examination of the Netherlands’ colonial past that last year featured a major exhibition on the country’s role in the global slave trade.“If you look at the Dutch educational system, the Indonesian independence is described from a Dutch perspective, and we feel it very important to continuously broaden our history," Dibbits said.

An international teammate of Kevin De Bruyne has been tipped to join Manchester City.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch police have received five reports of alleged criminal abuse linked to “The Voice of Holland” talent show and some 20 reports of “inappropriate behavior and possible sexually transgressive behavior” by people linked to the show.The police statement on Monday revealed no further details of the complaints, citing privacy.The online investigative show “BOOS” — the Dutch word for “angry” — reported last month that it had received multiple claims ranging from an allegation of rape to sexually-tinted WhatsApp messages sent by two panelists on “The Voice of Holland” and its pianist and band leader.The show's former producer, media tycoon John de Mol, apologized and told “BOOS” that in his years as “The Voice of Holland's” producer he only received one complaint, and that was against the show’s pianist and band leader Jeroen Rietbergen, in 2019.Rietbergen was the partner of De Mol’s sister, the Dutch television star Linda de Mol. She ended their relationship and the popular talent show was taken off the air amid the allegations.

Chinese authorities interrupted a Dutch journalist’s live report on the Winter Olympics Friday, dragging him off-camera and creating confusion as to why his broadcast was halted.

Ellise Shafer A Dutch journalist was interrupted and pulled out of frame by a Chinese security guard while covering the Beijing Olympics on Friday.As can be seen in a video that quickly went viral on Friday, NOS correspondent Sjoerd den Daas was reporting outside of the National Stadium in Beijing during the Olympics’ opening ceremony when he was stopped by a security guard and pushed out of frame.Onze correspondent @sjoerddendaas werd om 12.00u live in het NOS Journaal door beveiligers voor de camera weggetrokken. Helaas is dit steeds vaker de dagelijkse realiteit voor journalisten in China.

Bas van der Ree has been elected chairman of the Association of Film Commissioners International, becoming the first European to chair the organization in more than a decade. Van der Ree, who has been the Netherlands Film Commissioner since 2014 when the nation’s film production incentive was launched, previously served as AFCI’s 1st vice chair.

Jeff Bezos’ superyacht to pass through.The city of Rotterdam will temporarily break down the historic Koningshavenbrug Bridge because the billionaire’s yacht, which is 417 ft long, won’t fit, according to the Agence France-Presse.The superyacht is being built by the Oceano shipyard in Alblasserdam, Netherlands and will have to pass through the port city. According to Dutch News, in order to make room for the yacht, the middle section of the huge steel bridge will be removed. Bezos will reportedly be the one to pay for the deconstruction of the bridge.Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos rock ‘Brady’ hoodies to congratulate Tom Brady on his retirementDid Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, Jeff Bezos, and Lauren Sanchez, have a double date?Lauren Sanchez introduces her new cute co-pilot and, it’s not Jeff BezosAccording to the mayor’s office told AFP that dismantling the bridge has created several jobs for the community.

Marta Balaga Paraguayan filmmaker Paz Encina’s “Eami” – being sold by MPM Premium – has won the top Tiger Award and a €40,000 cash prize at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), the festival announced Wednesday. The 51st edition of the Dutch event, forced online due to the Omicron wave, will wrap on Sunday.The jury, made up of Zsuzsi Bankuti, Gust Van den Berghe, Tatiana Leite, Thekla Reuten and Farid Tabarki, was impressed with her complex, magical realist take on the suffering of the indigenous tribes, calling it a “powerful film.” “It gave us the opportunity to dream and, at the same time, a chance to wake up,” they stated.Inspired by the stories of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode people, as well as their mythology, Encina created a tale about a young girl who embarks on a journey after her village is destroyed.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBeta Film has acquired world sales rights to “Estonia,” an ambitious Finnish series telling the true story of Europe’s deadliest maritime disaster of the 20th century. The eight-part event drama will reteam “Bordertown” creator Miikko Oikkonen (“Bordertown,” “Helsinki Syndrome”) and helmer Juuso Syrjä (Bordertown) who will split directing duties with Måns Månsson (“Snabba Cash”).Finland’s biggest drama project to date, “Estonia” is produced by Beta Nordic Studio’s Finnish banner Fisher King, and co-produced by Swedish Kärnfilm AB, Panache Production Belgium and the Estonian Amrion Oü.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentIndie Sales has boarded Philippe Van Leeuw’s “The Wall,” an English-language film headlined by rising star Vicky Krieps (“Phantom Thread,” “Bergman Island”) and set on the border of Mexico and Arizona.“The Wall” follows Jessica Comley (Krieps), a committed and zealous border patrol agent who one day loses control and kills a harmless migrant in front of three witnesses: her colleague, who tries to cover the crime, and a Native American man with his grandson.Van Leeuw is a Belgian filmmaker known for his politically-minded films, including “Insyriated,” which won the Berlinale audience award in 2017, as well as “The Day God Walked Away” which earned San Sebastian festival’s New Director Award in 2009. With “The Wall,” Van Leew said he wanted to portray “today’s America.” Indie Sales is handling global rights on the anticipated feature and will launch it at the European Film Market.“We’re proud to work with a director whose talent has been proven,” said Nicolas Eschbach, Indie Sales CEO and co-founder.

As the Best International Feature race comes to a close, it’s fairly clear to see who the favorites are. Since it premiered at Cannes last year, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car has dominated the landscape, featuring highly in international critics’ awards and even penetrating the consciousness of the Golden Globes. But—as we saw at Cannes, where Hamaguchi only went home with Best Screenplay—critical mass doesn’t always impact on industry juries. It’s just as possible, then, that the Oscar might go to Norway’s The Worst Person in the World, a gently subversive romcom by Joachim Trier that captures the exact moment in a director’s career when they nail their style. To add a third alternative, Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s sobering emigrant story Flee has been quietly making history, a feat that will be cemented if it becomes, as many think it might, the first film to compete in the International, Documentary and Animation fields.

Refresh for latest…: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home scaled fresh heights this session as it reached an amazing new milestone by crossing the $1B mark at the international box office. The offshore cume through Sunday is an estimated $1.003B for a global total of $1.74B.

Ellise Shafer NBC has ordered an untitled drama pilot from “The Village” creator Mike Daniels, based on the award-winning Dutch series “A’dam – E.V.A.”According to the show’s logline, it “chronicles the epic love and lives of two complete strangers whose multiple run-ins begin to defy coincidence and lead both to believe in fate. This show breaks the mold by pairing a serialized, stand-up-and-cheer romantic comedy with the wildly diverse and often unexpected human stories of anyone who finds themselves six degrees from Adam and Eva.”The show will be produced by Universal Television in association with 6107 Productions, Inc., David Janollari Entertainment, Silver Lining Entertainment and Willy Waltz International.

NBC is moving forward with its adaptation of Dutch drama series A’dam & Eva – two and a half years after putting the project in development.