NLWave 26

“pink & green is difficult to put into one box, and I think that is one of its main strengths,” producer Danielle Guirguis tells Business Doc Europe of Turner Prize nominee Rory Pilgrim’s hybrid doc project, set on the windswept British island of Portland. In the film, two mysterious orbs, one pink, the other green, emerge from the bowels of the earth to instil a greater sense of hope and optimism, both in the film’s troubled protagonists and in the wider community who step forward to offer their support.

Fourteen Dutch documentary projects, twelve of which are at advanced stage, will be presented during the second edition of NLWave (September 30 to October 2), an initiative of the Netherlands Film Fund and presented in co-operation with SEE NL. The 2026 showcase comprises a who’s who of top Dutch creative and business talent, and presents a wealth of fascinating stories that span the globe. Simone van den Broek, Head of Documentary and Fiction at the Netherlands Film Fund, guides Business Doc Europe through this year’s selection.

The second edition of NLWave presents a curated selection of 35 Dutch projects, ranging from early stage projects to works in progress, to an international group of festival programmers, sales agents and distributors. Fourteen of these are documentary projects, of which two are first-time pitches and twelve are WIPs. The showcase runs from 30 September to 2 October in Utrecht, where it coincides with the closing of the Netherlands Film Festival.

The second edition of NLWave (30 Sept to Oct 2), the international showcase presenting upcoming Dutch features, documentaries and animation, is set to launch NxtWave, comprising four shorts by rising Dutch filmmaking talent. These include the multi award-winning How to Catch a Butterfly by Kiriko Mechanicus, and Nina Broers’ Student Academy Award-winning Where is my Sex Drive.

NLWave returns September 30 to October 2 2026 with a curated selection of upcoming documentaries from the Netherlands, as well as feature films and animation. Following the successful first edition of the Dutch film showcase in 2025, first doc selections for this year’s roll-out include new projects by Renzo Martens, Aliona van der Horst, Suzanne Raes and Menno Otten. “Each of these filmmakers brings a distinct voice and a strong track record, reflecting the depth and ambition of this year’s line-up,” organisers write.