Before 1945 The short film
Inhuldiging Koningin Wilhelmina te Amsterdam was made in 1898 and is the oldest surviving Dutch film. The first known Dutch documentary was made in 1916 by Johann Vierboom. The film
Storm en noodweer in Nederland shows the 1916 flood disaster at the coasts of the
Zuiderzee. Another documentary film of this era is
Holland Neutraal: De leger- en vlootfilm (1917) by
Willy Mullens. One of the most famous Dutch documentary film directors is
Joris Ivens. Ivens started making his own films in 1928. The first was an avant-garde look at a Rotterdam bridge,
The Bridge (
De brug, 1928). His later films were more realistic, socially concerned and polemical.
The Spanish Earth (1937) is one of his most famous films. In order to make internationally oriented documentaries, Ivens travelled to countries such as the Soviet Union, Spain, China, Australia and the United States.
1945-1965 After the
Second World War, films of the acclaimed documentary film directors
Bert Haanstra and
Herman van der Horst dominated Dutch cinema. Their work is internationally known as the ‘Dutch Documentary School’. A feature of the documentary films of this era is the use of human beings as a metaphor. Van der Horst and Haanstra both won prizes at the
Cannes Film Festival. Van der Horst's most famous movie is
Faja Lobbi (1960), while Haanstra gained international fame for his renowned documentary Alleman (
The Human Dutch, 1963). Other directors of the Dutch Documentary School are
Charles Huguenot van der Linden, and John Fernhout.
After 1965 After the era of the Dutch Documentary School, Dutch documentaries lost their uniformity. Instead of forming a group, joining forces and sharing stylistic trademarks, filmmakers mostly worked on independent projects or projects for television networks. Contemporary documentary directors have produced a wide variety of works. Contemporary directors with international successes are
Jos de Putter,
Heddy Honigmann,
Johan van der Keuken and
Leonard Retel Helmrich. In the late 20th century, documentary films are mainly shown on Dutch television networks, although some cinemas and art houses show Dutch documentary films. Nowadays, internet provides worldwide access to Dutch documentary films displayed online. ==Dutch organizations regarding documentary films==