Upcoming festivals

International film, art, poetry and music cross-over festival.

EYE Film Institute Netherlands presents the Film Biënnale, featuring unique film events at special venues throughout Amsterdam from 7 to 11 April. The programme was created in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which will present a selection drawn from its internationally renowned film collection.

The Film Biënnale showcases film productions which blur the boundaries between different artistic disciplines, merging music, art, theatre and poetry. The festival kicks off with the screening of The Man with the Camera (1929) by Russian film pioneer Dziga Vertov. The Michael Nyman Band will perform the soundtrack as a live accompaniment.
Exhibition FILM3 [kyü-bik film], 8 April to 2 May 2010

The Film Biënnale will feature interdisciplinary film experiences created from the combined inspiration of composers, artists, theatre-makers and poets. The projects relate to the history of film, and takes place at EYE and other Amsterdam venues such as Paradiso, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, BIMhuis, Pathé Tuschinski, Amsterdam Public Library (OBA), Compagnietheater and KunstENhuis. With this new approach to the moving image, EYE aims to celebrate the rich heritage of film while also highlighting the importance of film restoration.

Get your free festival magazine at EYE, Vondelpark 3, Amsterdam
For reservations & tickets call EYE at +31 (0)20 - 5891400

Imagine (26th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival)

Since its founding in 1984 Imagine (26th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival) focuses on film followers of the fantasy, science fiction, horror, thriller and animation genres. Films in which the imagination rules.

By identifying new talent, as well as trends and themes, Imagine remains up to date and functions as a guide for both genre fans as well as the more general film lovers. Artistic tour de force or popcorn film, low budget or high-tech, all is welcome at Imagine. Its quality, not status, that's the key.

Imagine (26th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival) doesn't just let films speak for themselves, it also informs the audience about the background of filmmaking through free access master classes, symposiums and interviews. The festival is also a place where visitors and guests can meet each in an informal atmosphere.

Imagine (26th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival): a mind-expanding, diverse and surprising film festival.

The 26th edition of Imagine (Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival) will be held from 14 April - 24 April 2010 in the Filmtheater Kriterion.

Entry to standard films is E 8.50 and the spine-chilling Night of Terror costs E 27.50. Prices vary for other special events organised during the festival. Tickets will be available online from the end of March.

The Amsterdams Kleinkunst Festival is the annual highlight of the cabaret season in the Netherlands. Since its founding in 1988, the festival has focused on stimulating the future, honouring the past and crowning quality.

The festival focuses on Kleinkunst in the broadest sense of the word: cabaret, musical and Dutch songs, by producing performances, tributes and several leading awards.

The last edition (March 30-May 16 2009) the festival included:

- The Competition for the Wim Sonneveld Award (upcoming talent in Kleinkunst, won by Yora Rienstra) - Tribute to Jenny Arean - Meneer Dinges, a mini-musical about the Jewish singer duo Johnny and Jones (by Rob of Meeberg, Martin van Dijk, Theuns Victor Plantinga and Mentink, director: Marcel Sijm) - Workshop Music and Lyrics for songwriters led by George Young and Martin van Dijk - Annie M.G. Schmidt Award (for best theatrical song, won by Dorine Wiersma)

For more than ten years the Amsterdam Roots Festival has ranked amongst the leading international music festivals, presenting frontier-crossing developments in world music to a large, varied audience. The festival is characterised different ethnic backgrounds and music styles and contacts between different population groups.

On Sunday 20 June 2010 the Amsterdam Roots Festival will feature 'Roots Open Air' in Oosterpark a large-scale, free, open-air festival staged in one of Amsterdam's parks. Performances, presentations and workshops of Dutch and foreign music groups will then take place on several platforms and in tents.

This musical spectacle will also feature more than a hundred stands representing organisations and institutes active in the fields of world music and non-Western culture, including exciting culinary products.

In 2008 more than 50,000 people of all cultural backgrounds visited Roots Open Air, together creating a relaxed, festive ambiance.

The Holland Festival is the largest performance festival in the Netherlands. Every year it offers a survey of impressive, much-talked-about artistic projects from all over the world.

Theatre, music, dance, opera, film and visual arts, Western and non-Western - all with two common denominators: high artistic quality and an international dimension. The festival also pays attention to the many possible forms of cross-fertilisation between the various disciplines.

Since 2005 the Holland Festival has been directed by Pierre Audi. Under his leadership the festival makes much of its role as a leading international (co)producer. It continues important traditions from the festival's glorious past, such as involvement in contemporary and non-classical music and innovations in the field of music theatre. The Holland Festival also proudly upholds its role as a pioneer. Examples of pioneering work in the past are the innovation of various forms of theatre and the introduction of international theatre makers. Since 1947 the Holland Festival has built up a long and illustrious tradition, making it the oldest performance-arts festival in the Netherlands.

The performances of the impressive programme take place in Amsterdam's most prestigious cultural buildings, for instance the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, the Muziektheater (Music Theatre), the Stadsschouwburg (City Theatre) and the Westergasfabriek cultural site.

The ITs Festival Amsterdam is the biggest European festival where you can scout a new Dutch and international generation of theatrical talent. The last nine days of June graduating actors, dancers, singers, mime artists, film producers and cabaret artists show their latest work. 30% of the performances are international and all shows are either subtitled, silent or in English. It?s a wonderful opportunity to catch a glimpse of how the performing arts will look in the coming years. Alongside the productions, the festival program is filled with inspiring debates, workshops and talk shows, ending every day with the famous ITs afterparty.

In the twenty years of its existence the ITs Festival has presented a lot of promising young artists who later went on to make a name for themselves within and outside the Netherlands. They began their careers on an ITs stage, candidly performing straight from their hearts, dreaming big dreams. Now they are the audience watching the ones who might succeed them!

Visiting Amsterdam? For international students, professionals, programmers and young directors ITs organises a special visitors program. For more information please refer to www.itsfestivalamsterdam.com

Venues: Compagnietheater, De Brakke Grond, Theater Frascati, De Engelenbak, Theater Bellevue, Rozentheater, De Kleine Komedie.

Tickets: between 8,50 and 12,- euro

Sensation starts its World Tour with a brand new edition in the Amsterdam ArenA!

Due to the enormous interest shown in Sensation Travel packages last year, Sensation decided to offer them once again. These packages consist of 1 or more overnight stays in a hotel of choice, a ticket for Sensation and a transfer to and from the venue.

These Sensation hotel packages go on sale Monday 8th March from 10:00 AM (gmt+1) onwards.
Regular ticket sales start on the 27th March at 10:00 AM (gmt+1) and can solely be obtained through www.sensation.com

Remark:
Since the 1st of January 2010 all tickets for Sensation and ID&T events are solely available through www.sensation.com and www.id-t.com, tickets are no longer available via Ticketonline.

Summer venue theatre
The Over het IJ Festival is the summer venue theatre festival. This year it will take place from 1 until 11 July in the northernmost part of Amsterdam (the Amsterdam Noord district).

A ferry will take you from the bustling city centre to the other side of the River IJ. There you will disembark and exchange the drag of everyday life for exciting performances by young theatre makers at unexpected venues. For eleven days you can watch more than twenty-five performances and enjoy delicious food and drinks at the festival site.

A benchmark of the Over het IJ Festival is the Sea Container Programme: students of various Dutch theatre schools develop a miniature performance that is staged in a sea container measuring six by three metres. Each sea container offers you a unique theatrical experience!

The festival will take place at the NDSM quay at Overhoeks (the new part of Amsterdam's centre on the shore of the IJ) and Amsterdam Central Station.

Julidans: beyond fancy steps
The international contemporary dance festival Julidans provides an impression of what is currently going on in the field of dance theatre, and also a look ahead at the future.

The festival revolves around dance makers driven by curiosity whose aims go beyond thinking up fancy steps. Julidans brings its audience performances that are daring, unusual and much-talked-about.

The festival also introduces the latest developments in African and Asian contemporary dance.

Over the years Julidans has brought together many great dance artists. Some already had an international reputation (Wim Vandekeybus, Maguy Marin, Marie Chouinard), others were presented as new discoveries and now rank among the greatest in their fields, such as Akram Khan, Dave St. Pierre and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Each year since 2007 the leading guests of the festival have been invited to bring along a guest of their choice: a young, still unknown dance maker who in their opinion has something remarkable to show the world. They are presented in a parallel programme called Julidans Next.

Julidans performances can be admired at the following venues: Stadsschouwburg (City Theatre), Paradiso, Theater Bellevue, Melkweg, Bijlmer Parktheater and the Vondelpark Open-Air Theatre.

The Grachtenfestival (Canal Festival) is an annual music festival based on classical music performances. Each performance is set amongst venues characterised by extraordinary or monumental architecture boasting culturally historical value.

Inspired by the annual theme, renowned soloists and ensembles quite often compose concert programmes especially for the festival. However the festival also features advance performances and foretastes of programmes that will be performed at venues elsewhere in the Netherlands later in the season.

The Canal Festival also puts an emphasis on giving young musicians an ideal opportunity to showcase their talents, with performances in lively busy public locations.

The event also includes a Children's Canal Festival, featuring productions specially intended for children of all ages, from babies and infants up to teenagers.

Many of the concerts are accessible free of charge or at a low entrance fee.

Every summer the mobile theatre festival De Parade visits Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam, transforming parks and squares into temporary cultural streets lined with dozens of colourful theatre tents.

With its theatre and dance performances, films, music, catering establishments and attractions such as an antique whirligig and a miniature wheel, it has something to please everyone's tastes, especially considering the great food stalls on offer. There is also a special Children's Parade every day of the festival.

The performances are staged several times each evening. Performers will tempt visitors to attend their shows by giving a foretaste of what they will be showing. Many of the performances are made specifically for De Parade and last at most thirty minutes.

The Uitmarkt is the national opening of the cultural season and the largest cultural festival in the Netherlands.

Over the years, the Uitmarkt has evolved into a festival attracting 500,000 visitors and featuring 2,000 performers at more than 30 venues.

This year the Uitmarkt will take place in Amsterdam's city centre, with the town's magnificent mansions and canal-side houses providing a stunning backdrop. In theatres and museums and at surprising venues all over the city centre you will be able to enjoy performances, for example in the Amsterdam Hermitage.

The three main stages will be in Dam square, Nieuwmarkt and near the Muziektheater (Music Theatre). Along the approach routes you will find a book market and an information market.

Specifically for young visitors there will be an Uitmarkt Junior in Beursplein, where children will be able to attend workshops and enjoy performances.

The Remix in the Theaterschool (Theatre School) is the hotspot for youngsters, featuring various performances and workshops.

Come to the Uitmarkt in Amsterdam's city centre this summer and discover the cultural wealth of the Netherlands!

The Vondelpark Open-Air Theatre lies in one of the best-known parks in the Netherlands: Vondelpark, a unique part of Amsterdam.
Nowhere else will you find so many different people of different ages, backgrounds and nationalities and from so many different parts of town.

In June, July and August the open-air theatre presents a varied programme featuring around 125 free performances. In these summer months around 100,000 people visit the open-air theatre.

At the Vondelpark Open-Air Theatre visitors can enjoy classical music, dance, children's performances, cabaret and other types of music, varying from world music to jazz, from urban to Dutch.

The programme includes a fixed part called In de Voorhoede, which is largely reserved for new talent. Young dancers, (classical) musicians and cabaret performers are granted a stage and an audience before the main programme.

Meet the theatre world during the Dutch Theatre Festival in Amsterdam, which every year marks the end of the old and the beginning of the new theatre season.

This year the festival will take place from 2 until 12 September and will feature the ten best performances of the season, the performances nominated for the Theatre Prize awarded by the public and a highly varied fringe programme full of master classes, discussions and entertainment.

For the first time the festival will also include the shows nominated for the Gouden Krekel (Golden Cricket) - the award for the best theatre performance for children. Many awards will be presented during the festival itself, which traditionally features the most important representatives of the Dutch and Flemish theatre world. Among those awards are the well-known Louis D'Or and Theo D'Or, the BNG Nieuwe Theatermakersprijs and the Dioraphte Amsterdam Fringe Award.

The Amsterdam Fringe Festival, which has meanwhile come to include dozens of shows at around twenty venues, is a festival organised within the context of the Dutch Theatre Festival where juries have nothing to say and theatre makers hold sway.
The Fringe Festival offers a varied 'Language No Problem' programme. Since last year, the jury's selection is presented with English subtitles.
The festival will end with a Dutch Theatre Gala.

The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is the Gateway to the international electronic music scene. As Europe's leading electronic music conference and the world's biggest club festival, it's the perfect time and place to meet with international music minds, introduce your business to an international audience and connect with new music, new trends, new people.

ADE draws the crowds like Hamelin, only there's always well-know names to watch out for as well as rising stars (ADE NEXT). The playlist for 2010 is again suitably diverse: electronic, acid, techno, trance, house, hip hop, drum 'n' bass and other beat-filled sounds to make you move. Last year, 90,000 ADE-rs packed out 41 venues to the tune of more than 700 DJs and artists. With this year's programme looking like a who's-who and who's-that?! of dancefloor royalty, 2010 looks set to rewrite the rules on bringing da house down.

During the ADE lovers of music can enjoy the absolute world top of dance music artists for four days. The Amsterdam Dance Event 2010 is held from the 20th until the 23rd of October.

The Cinekid Festival is an annual film, television and new-media festival for children in Amsterdam. Every year more than 50,000 children and (international) guests visit one or more of the five hundred media productions that Cinekid has to offer them: film, documentaries, short films, cartoons, television productions, cross-media productions, interactive installations and workshops. Alongside the main festival in Amsterdam, a satellite programme also featuring the Cinekid films is organised in more than thirty other towns throughout the Netherlands.

Cinekid for Professionals
Cinekid for Professionals will take place during the Cinekid Festival. This event will provide an opportunity for more than two hundred media professionals to meet one another in order to discuss new developments in the field of children's media, exchange experiences and promote the production of children's films, children's television and cross-media productions.
Cinekid for Professionals will comprise coproduction markets, a 'sales library', seminars and expert meetings.

At CinekidStudio.nl children can make their own media productions throughout the year. At this special children's domain children produce their own short films, news broadcasts, video clips or short cartoons.

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the largest event of its kind in the world. The festival will arrive in Amsterdam on 19 November to begin a ten-day programme packed to bursting point. IDFA's rising popularity guarantees that 2009 will once again see hoards of film-hungry visitors race to the capital to catch one (or more) of the staggering 300 creative documentaries on offer.

Filmic food for thought
IDFA also offers an unrivalled events programme to complement the films showcased in the festival. It goes without saying that films that inspire adjectival gushing, from beautiful to provocative, confronting to touching and from poetic to informative are sure to get tongues wagging. So it should come as no surprise to hear that after-parties, talk shows and debates are also important elements of the festival.

Beyond film
Much more than just another film festival, IDFA gives directors, producers, financiers and of course, the general public the chance to mingle and exchange ideas in an atmosphere geared towards creativity. The international range, the variety of genres, the politically-engaged programme and the host of European and world premieres make the IDFA a must for all (documentary) film enthusiasts.