At Post-Plaza Hotel & Grand Café, one of the locations of the NoFF, experts and filmmakers from small language areas across Europe will gather on Thursday and Friday to attend lectures and panel discussions.
Unique Collaboration
“This is a unique collaboration that benefits the entire Northern film climate,” says Hester Terpstra, Director of the Film Foundation in Friesland. “It is intended for the preservation and promotion of small languages. We were approached by the province and have developed a program together with them and the NPLD.”
“Normally, we already pay a lot of attention to films and creators from small language areas, but now we are broadening that even more,” she continues. “We hope that networks will be expanded and contacts will be made to give a boost to filmmaking in small languages.”
Strengthening Language Diversity in the Creative Sector
Deputy Eke Folkerts of Provinsje Fryslân: “As a province, we find it important that Frisian and other small languages are not only spoken but also visualized. Fryslân provides this festival as a platform for stories from small language areas and shows that regional languages belong in the European film world. This strengthens the position of language diversity in the creative sector.”
Visitors and speakers come from Basque Country, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, and Wales. They share best practices, discussing the impact of regional film on tourism, and representatives from streaming services give their views on films from small language areas.
Turning Point
Joris Hoebe, quartermaster of the Frysk Film Fund and co-founder of New Noardic Wave, the largest filmmakers network in Northern Netherlands, is one of the speakers. He sees a turning point regarding productions from small language areas. “Five to ten years ago, this was still seen as a weakness, but in recent years, the strength of Gaelic, Sámi, Limburgish, and Frisian has been discovered. By exchanging knowledge and experiences, this will only get stronger.”
He continues: “The Northern Film Festival positions itself beautifully as the festival for films from small language areas. By choosing such a clear theme and inviting guests related to it, we have become the center here in Leeuwarden where filmmakers and producers come into contact with each other and develop new projects together. That is the wish: to see how we as small language areas can strengthen each other, as we want to make more films in our own languages.”
The Northern Film Festival will take place this year from November 5 to 9. The entire program can be found at www.noordelijkfilmfestival.nl.
