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.
Festival curators, sales agents and other international industry professionals are invited to meet both emerging and established talent and film professionals from across the Dutch industry and get an exclusive first look at the very best of Dutch projects, works-in-progress and completed works. The full line-up will be announced in August 2026.
‘Building on the success of NLWave25, we are thrilled to once again showcase Dutch film talent to the world,” says Netherlands Film Fund CEO Iwana Chronis. “With bold and distinctive stories, both emerging and established filmmakers prove once more that there is a true wave of Dutch talent making its mark. We can’t wait to share these original and ambitious film projects with the international industry!”
The Netherlands Film Fund, in close collaboration with SEE NL, will host the second edition of NLWave from 30 September to 2 October in Utrecht during the Netherlands Film Festival.
First documentary selections
- Renzo Martens’ White Cube shook up the art and documentary worlds from its premiere in Lusanga to Palazzo Grassi in Venice. During NLWave26, he will present the sequel Dawn of the Post Plantation.
- Other selected documentary titles this year include The Return by Aliona van der Horst (known for Love Is Potatoes, selected for the International Competition in Leipzig 2017), We Had a Plan by Suzanne Raes (Close to Vermeer, which won the Special Jury Prize during GZDOC 2023) and Still City by Menno Otten (The Sacrifice).
- Afghan-Dutch director Aboozar Amini, whose Persian-language documentary Kabul, City in the Windopened at IDFA in 2018, will present his first narrative feature film, Tahmina.
The 2025 pilot edition welcomed around 40 international guests to Utrecht, who spent two days discovering 45 Dutch titles. Both House of Hope by Marjolein Busstra and Paikar by Dawood Hilmandi (Baldr Film) were subsequently selected for IDFA Luminous Competition in 2025. Tom Fassaert presented his feature doc Between Brothers, produced by Een van de jongens. The film went on to world premiere at IFFR 2026. Club Heaven by Jona Honer (produced by Submarine Productions) was later selected for Visions du Réel Burning Lights Competition.
“Together, these titles made a compelling case for the strength and diversity of contemporary Dutch cinema,” organisers underline.
More information to follow at filmfonds.nl.
