Downtown to open Nederlands Film Festival on Friday
Michiel van Erp’s new film premieres in Utrecht on 25 September as the festival’s opening film.
The Nederlands Film Festival opens on Friday with Downtown, a new feature film by Michiel van Erp. The drama follows three friends in 1980s Amsterdam and their reunion during the coronavirus pandemic.
Downtown initially takes place in 1986, around an Amsterdam nightclub where Ronnie, Lennart and Bas develop a close friendship. When Aids arrives, the world they live in changes and their bond comes under pressure.
The second part is set more than 30 years later, during the 2021 lockdown. Ronnie unexpectedly recognises Bas on the metro and decides to organise a dinner attended by Lennart as well. The film uses that meeting to look back on a period that permanently changed the lives of the three men.
Michiel van Erp directed the film from a screenplay by Frank Houtappels. The leading roles are played by, among others, Yorick van Wageningen, Hans Kesting, Roeland Fernhout, Daniel Cornelissen, Sebastián Mrkvicka and Thor Braun.
The Nederlands Film Festival opens on Friday 25 September in Utrecht. Alongside the premiere, there will be public screenings attended by the cast and crew. The festival runs until and including 2 October and will also show the film at other locations.
Downtown was produced by Kaap Holland Film and Het Familiedrama. The film received support from the Nederlands Filmfonds, the Netherlands Film Production Incentive, the CoBO Fonds, the Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds and BNNVARA.
The nationwide cinema release is scheduled for 1 October. The festival organisation and producers present the film as a drama about friendship, loss and memory. The film is described here factually; an assessment or review is not part of this report.
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The festival premiere, release date, makers and storyline have been confirmed by official sources from the Dutch film sector. The text contains no unassessed quality claims.
- confirmed Downtown will open the Nederlands Film Festival on 25 September 2026. — This is stated in the Filmfonds announcement. source
- confirmed Michiel van Erp directed the film from a screenplay by Frank Houtappels. — The Filmfonds and producer name the same credits. source
- confirmed The cinema release is scheduled for 1 October. — The date appears in the Filmfonds’ official film description. source
- confirmed The film is set in 1986 and during the 2021 lockdown. — The synopses from the Filmfonds and Kaap Holland mention both periods. source
Editor's note
The premiere, makers, cast, synopsis and cinema release date have been confirmed by the Filmfonds and the producer. No review has been conducted.Sources
- Nederlands Film Festival 2026 opent met Downtown van Michiel van Erp — Nederlands Filmfonds
- Door het Filmfonds gesteunde films op het Nederlands Film Festival 2026 — Nederlands Filmfonds
- Downtown — Kaap Holland Studios
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „downtown michiel van erp”
- NOS — „downtown michiel van erp”
- Het Parool — „downtown michiel van erp”