Dutch youth cinema at SCHLiNGEL International Film Festival
Dutch cinema for young audiences will be part of the 31st SCHLiNGEL International Film Festival for Children and Young Audiences, taking place from 2 to 10 October 2026 in Chemnitz, Germany. The festival presents films from around the world for children and young people, with Dutch productions and co-productions represented across its feature film and short film competitions.
Still: You're Killing Me - Ivo van Aart
Among the Dutch selections are two feature films, five short films and three minority co-productions.
In the Youth Film Competition, You're Killing Me by Ivo van Aart will compete. The darkly comic coming-of-age film follows a student from the 1970s, who's ghost ends up in the body of 19-year-old Quinn. As a Boomer in a Gen-Z body, she discovers that the world has changed a lot. The film is produced in the Netherlands by Pupkin, with Shooting Star Filmcompany handling international sales.
Joren Molter's Nuclear Boy has been selected for the Panorama section. The film follows a young chemistry fanatic, who tries to build a nuclear reactor in his mother's shed, with all the catastrophic consequences that entails. Nuclear Boy is produced by New Amsterdam Film Company, with Incredible Film handling international sales.
In the Short Film Competition, Elisabeth Hesemans' Little Goat Squad: Rascals will screen alongside Steven Wouterlood's The Life of Len and Roos Spruijt's Trashpalace.
The Animated Short Film Competition features two Dutch productions. Trouble in Mind by Marlyn Spaaij and A Dog's Life, directed by Sophie Olga de Jong and Sytske Kok.
SCHLiNGEL also selected three international feature films with Dutch minority production involvement. Frederike Migom's Everyone's Sorry Nowadays, Rebekah Fortune's Learning to Breathe Under Water and Cecilia Verheyden's Skiff all feature Dutch production partners.
Find out more about SCHLiNGEL here.