How Rietland Put Dutch Cinema Back on the Map w/ Director Sven Bresser
Sven Bresser’s debut feature Rietland marks a striking moment for Dutch cinema — the first film in nearly 30 years to be selected for Cannes. This eerie, quietly devastating story follows a reed cutter whose discovery of a murdered girl’s body sets off an introspective search for truth, asking where violence really comes from — the world outside or something buried within. Set against the haunting stillness of the Dutch countryside, the film transforms landscape into witness.Speaking with producer Elliot Bloom, Bresser reflects on why he wanted to tell a story rooted in the land he grew up in, how local truths can hold universal weight, and why casting non-actors brought an essential honesty to the film. Together, they explore what makes Rietland resonate so deeply — both at home and far beyond The Netherlands.Get tickets to Rietland @ LAB111Get tickets to CC Film Club: Challengers @ LAB111
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Eddington, Rietland and Tilly Norwood
A lot can change in a week at the movies. One Battle After Another—the film we crowned as the year’s best—has stumbled at the box office, but does that tell the full story? Meanwhile, Dutch cinema is making international headlines, though for all the wrong reasons: AI actors. Alongside all this, new films demand our attention: Ari Aster returns with Eddington, a chaotic, unhinged attempt to wrestle with the Covid era, and Sven Bresser’s Rietland might just put The Netherlands back on the cinematic map. Hosts Laura Gommans and Elliot Bloom have plenty to unpack.Get tickets to CC Film Club: Challengers @ LAB111Get tickets to Eddington @ LAB111Get tickets to Rietland @ LAB111Get tickets to Yi Yi @ LAB111Get tickets to One Battle After Another @ LAB111
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One Battle After Another, Yi Yi and Him
Paul Thomas Anderson’s $130 million blockbuster might just be the film of the year. In this episode, Laura and Elliot dive into the action-packed, satirical drama while lamenting Leonardo DiCaprio’s phenomenal performance—brilliant on screen, morally dubious off it. They also revel in the timeless elegance of Yi Yi, recently restored and returned to the big screen by Odyssey Classics, and ask why the thriller Him couldn’t live up to the hype, even with Jordan Peele’s name on it.Get tickets to CC Film Club: Challengers @ LAB111Get tickets to One Battle After Another @ LAB111Get tickets to Yi Yi @ LAB111Get tickets to Him @ LAB111
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Make Chick Flicks Great Again....Or Not?
What ever happened to the chick flick? At the turn of the millennium, this fizzy, unabashedly feminine genre ruled the box office and sleepovers alike, but somewhere along the way, it slipped out of fashion. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Clueless, now screening at LAB111, Kiriko Mechanicus and Tom Ooms revisit their favorite titles and try to define what a chick flick really is. From iconic gems to forgotten cult favorites, they explore the pleasures, pitfalls, and cultural baggage of the genre, asking whether we still need chick flicks today, or if they’re better left in the early 2000s with flip phones and frosted lip gloss.Get tickets to Clueless @ LAB111
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Why Agnès Varda is a Cinema Icon
Coinciding with our Viva Varda retrospective now playing at LAB111 in Amsterdam, Elliot and Kiriko celebrate the life and cinema of French filmmaker and feminist icon Agnès Varda. They discuss why Varda is Kiriko’s ultimate cinematic hero and how her films mirror the warmth, curiosity, and humour of the woman herself. Varda's approach to filmmaking is more than craft, it’s a way of seeing the world, a playful blueprint for us all to live by. Together, they unpack some of her classics and imagine how they might spend a single unforgettable day with Agnès Varda.Get tickets to Viva Varda: The Films of Agnès Varda @ LAB111
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