The Netherlands

Recent international projects that have shot in the Netherlands include Peter Greenaway's Lucca Mortis, UK drama Midwinter Break, directed by Polly Findlay, made through Shoebox Films and sold by Protagonist Pictures, and Australian director Sophie Hyde's Jimpa in summer 2024.

Locations are another key reason why the Netherlands is such a robust option for international producers, in addition to the 35% incentive. Amsterdam’s canals and houses generate most of the headlines, but the country also has a beautiful coastline, contemporary cityscapes and diverse agricultural backdrops. 

The Netherlands and the UK signed a memorandum of understanding in Both film commissions said the MoU aims to foster a seamless, film-friendly service for inward investment film and high-end TV productions working across both territories. 

Film and high-end TV productions to have filmed across both territories include features The Hitman’s Bodyguard and Dunkirk and series Killing Eve, The Couple Next Door and Baptiste.

Roeland Oude Nijhuis, Netherlands Film Commissioner, said the MoU “aims to remove barriers and help filmmakers, producers and other industry professionals from both countries to partner up and create stories that matter. We’ve already seen great projects come to life: films like Occupied City and Silver Haze demonstrate the impact of combining Dutch and British visions in storytelling.”

First person to contact: Roeland Oude Nijhuis, Netherlands film commissioner: info@ filmcommission.nl

Belgian producers work especially closely with their Dutch partners. Co-productions between the two nations can make use of both the Dutch incentive and the Belgian tax shelter. There are also reciprocal arrangements in place between the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) and its Dutch equivalent, the Netherlands Film Fund. Crew members tend to work in both countries and often distributors will pick up rights for all of Benelux.

If Belgian producers are their natural partners, Dutch producers are also working with Scandinavian countries, for example, on Danish director Thomas Vinterberg’s The Alcohol Project, and with UK partners, including Vertigo’s London-set police series Bulletproof.

The Netherlands has always drawn in productions to its unique locations like the Amsterdam canals, and of course we see a windmill every now and then.

The film business is concentrated around the picturesque city of Amsterdam, which can get crowded, but Rotterdam, The Hague and other cities offer a variety of shooting options, and impressively, places like Dordrecht and Delft are even being used as doubles for Amsterdam.

The most popular shooting locations tend to be the canals, coastal landscapes (dunes and beaches) and farming fields and meadows. Rotterdam is also attracting interest with its architecture of modern skylines combined with large, industrial ports. For location back-up or additional sets there are also studios close by available within the cities' borders.

One of the huge draws for international filmmakers is the beautiful Dutch light, a quality mentioned frequently by cinematographers.

The Amsterdam Filming Protocol, adopted in 2023, is intended to ensure best practice for filmmaking in a historic city full of heritage sites. 

Netherlands is home to several film and TV studios and has made a significant move into virtual production.

Cam-a-Lot, Maloney, and Lux & Co and Stroom & Co have joined forces under the new Camalux banner, providing high-end camera, lights and generator rental & services. With bases in Amsterdam and Vilvoorde, Belgium, Camalux is equipped to serve the most demanding productions across the Benelux and beyond.

There is also Amsterdam Production Services, a multi language team established over two decades ago with experience on commercial as well as feature and high end TV projects.

Crews in The Netherlands are excellent, although international producers sometimes need to compete to hire the best.

The infrastructure for international production in the Netherlands vastly improved under previous film commissioner Bas van der Ree, who was replaced by producer Roel Oude Nijhuis. The Dutch may not have a major studio to rival a Babelsberg in Germany or Pinewood in the UK but there are various smaller facilities - Amsterdam Studios and Studio Scossa Amsterdam among them — as well as the state-of-the-art virtual studio ReadySet.

Alongside Netherlands Film Commission are various local commissions to assist with permits and filming locations.

The country’s main airport, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, has flights to almost every international destination. The country also boasts excellent road and rail infrastructure.