His first film was a 53-minute television film named
Duister Licht (
"Dark Light"). His second film
Suzy Q featured actress
Carice van Houten, who Koolhoven worked with several times in the films to come. It was also the feature debut of actor
Michiel Huisman. His first (Dutch) cinematic release was
AmnesiA (2001), which also got a small release in
New York City. In 2004, Koolhoven was one of the
New Faces In European Cinema as presented by
Pedro Almodovar at the AFI festival (Hollywood). In 2005 Koolhoven directed
Schnitzel Paradise. The film was shown at many international film festivals, including the
Berlin Film Festival and the
Karlovy Vary Film Festival where it was part of the
Variety Critic's choice. In the same year Koolhoven released
Bonkers, a children's movie. In 2006 Koolhoven directed
Happy Family. In 2008 Koolhoven made
Oorlogswinter (Winter in Wartime), a Dutch movie based on the novel by the same name, written by
Jan Terlouw. The movie was the Dutch entry for the
Academy Awards and was selected to be on the shortlist (of 9 films). The movie was distributed in the United States by
Sony Classics and was sold to about 25 other countries. In 2010, Koolhoven started his own production company, together with producer
Els Vandevorst, called N279 Entertainment that produced several movies. His first production for N279 Entertainment as a director was the
western named
Brimstone. It premiered at the
73rd Venice International Film Festival in 2016 and became Koolhoven's fifth consecutive hit film in
The Netherlands. Since 2018, Koolhoven has his own TV show on Dutch television, called
De Kijk van Koolhoven, in which he shares his views on filmmaking. Using film scenes that he dissects, he talks extensively about his favorite actors, directors, and films. In 2020, he wrote a theater show
Klassiekers met Koolhoven with which he performed in theaters for two seasons. In 2020, Koolhoven received the Silver Rose, an award given annually to a recipient that is or has been of great significance to the Dutch film world. In 2022 Koolhoven was presented with the Rutger Hauer Award, which is given annually to a recipient that has made an important contribution to the development and promotion of young film talent in the Netherlands. In 2024, at the
International Film Festival Rotterdam, his talent development program
Koolhoven Presents premiered. This included six genre films by talented creators whom he had selected and mentored. Later that year, these films were broadcast by
VPRO Television. Besides all this Koolhoven has a monthly show in
Eye Film Institute Netherlands with
Ronald Simons, where he shows and talks about movies. For more than ten years it was called
Cinema Egzotik, but in 2019 it transformed into
Koolhoven & Simons where they show only one movie, but have more time to talk and show more beforehand. Koolhoven was asked to do the something similar in
Forum Groningen, which lead to
Koolhovens Keuze, a program in many Dutch film theatres across The Netherlands where Koolhoven talks about and shows movies. He picks a different one everywhere, so he can rewatch his favorite movies. Koolhoven is working on a noir thriller
Emerald Butterfly, set in
Jakarta, 1946. and on the adaptation of
Angel Maker by
Stefan Brijs == Filmography ==