VPRO

In a medieval Dutch village, a young woman is caught between her faith, fanatic townsfolk and the dark forces lurking in the woods.

Sjef van Oekel escapes from prison and heads for a restaurant. Unfortunately there is nobody there to annoy. Even at the train station he is ignored by former colleagues and he ends up alone.

A young girl sets out to prove to her disapproving mother she can house-train the endearing but unruly little piglet she gets as a birthday gift from her estranged oddball grandfather.

In Eastern Ukraine, childhood neighbors find their lives violently derailed by a shifting frontline. Natasha, a promising boxing talent, becomes a military paramedic. Angela, who lost her parents at a young age, survives by moving goods to both sides of the front. Caught in a modern Greek tragedy, brothers Mark and Ruslan now fight on opposite sides – against each other. In the safety of his adoptive family in the United States, their youngest brother Daniil follows the war from afar.

Dora Leenders is about to give birth. Since she was impregnated during a school reunion, she invites both men whom she had sex with that night to her flat to witness the birth.

A forced diversity mandate disrupts an elite Dutch school, pushing two student worlds into collision. As status games turn hostile and buried tensions erupt, identity becomes a battlefield where belonging must be earned.

Abel has never left home (literally). After failing with doctors and psychiatrists, Abel's father Victor brings home Christine, a friend, in an attempt to teach Abel basic social skills. But Victor's wife Duif accuses him of having an affair, and in the ensuing row Abel is thrown out into the street. But help is at hand when he runs into kind-hearted stripper Zus - whose show Victor is obsessed with…

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

Struggling to get home to her stranded baby, a young mother in Amsterdam receives an emergency alert on her phone: a nuclear missile has been launched at the city and residents have forty-five minutes to evacuate.

A group of people gather at a Copenhagen suburban home to break all the limitations and to bring out the 'inner idiot' in themselves.

Nisha, a trans woman from Pakistan working as a dancer in the Netherlands, is conflicted about proceeding with gender-affirming surgery. Every time she embraces her identity, she is subjected to strange attacks and visions. Chaos ensues when her inner demons decide to take on the demons outside.

Ruud Lubbers was the longest-serving Prime Minister of The Netherlands. For twelve years, he was a defining force in Dutch politics. Elusive and influential. How did he manage to stay in power for so long?

What would happen with you if only you know the truth, and people won’t believe you? If the government decides to prosecute you and you have to plea for your own innocence without having the evidence? Peter Putker’s wife Durdana lost her life while sailing along the coast of Colombia. And although Peter states from the very beginning that they were attacked by pirates, the local authorities do not buy in his innocence. For them, he is the one who murdered his own wife. Problem is: only Peter himself was there and truly knows what happens. The Colombian authorities assign the case to the Dutch court. What happens when only you know the truth and any evidence supporting your innocence is lacking?

"It was a kind of flywheel that you set in motion; I couldn't turn back at all," says Hans van Mierlo in the film about his political career. That career began in 1966 when he founded the political party D66 with a number of like-minded individuals. Clearly visible from the editorial office of the Algemeen Handelsblad on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam, the unrest was crowing, fueled by Provo. The pillar society, which had kept the Netherlands afloat for so long, was no longer adequate. That was his analysis, and a much more direct democracy would have to take its place.

Television movie.

Martha overhears Bernard and John talking about blackmail. Jacob has come up with a plan that includes a mysterious key. Brothers Bobby and Arnold, eternal rivals, both fancy Martha, but also have a soft spot for Leonie. The latter gets tasked to learn more about Jacob's plan. A dead man is discovered lying in Bernard's office late at night by somebody else searching the premises. When the main conspirators all gather at the Zevenhuis villa, John declines to cooperate...

A nearly 30 minute long conversation in a living room party. Unlike in a regular TV play the jabber conversation can hardly be understood. Sometimes a line or two can be picked up. There's an intermezzo when Schippers alias Jacques Plafond comes to play one of his 'modern' piano pieces, to the disgust of the party's guests, whose chattering in the end isn't far removed from the piano play.

Registration of the live concert by the Dutch singer Wende Snijders. Back to her musical core and an ode to playfulness, that is what singer and musician Wende wanted. In October 2024, her concert series Vrijplaats ('Free space') started in Carré, which brought her back to basics: two pianos, Wende's voice, pianist Nils Davidse and a surprising guest artist every evening. Now there is the live recording of her show with guests: Merol, Froukje and Sef.

The social contract: the rules we follow - and some don’t. Breaking Social uncovers the pattern of corruption and kleptocracy erasing the social tissue, followed by social uprisings. In Chile a new turn is taken, with young women in the lead.

More than any other prime minister, Wim Kok has to deal with explosive dossiers. After the fall of Srebrenica during Kok I, thorny issues once again lie on his plate in the second term: the role of Jorge Zorreguieta and the assassination of Pim Fortuyn.