On Wednesday, September 28, 2011, the New Dutch Film Platform (NNFP) was launched, an initiative to give an extra boost to the financing of Dutch feature films. The NNFP combines elements of crowdfunding and private financing for tax reasons, and adds the membership element as a new component—a membership element previously unknown in the film world.

Due to budget cuts in the cultural sector, the Dutch film sector will also take a heavy hit. However, the cuts are also inspiring new forms of financing, such as crowdfunding, and are giving a new impetus to already known forms of private financing, such as the partnership (comparable to the film limited partnership). The New Dutch Film Platform (NNFP), an initiative by producers Herman Slagter and Jan Doense (House of Netherhorror), combines elements of crowdfunding (*) and private financing—in which tax benefits and profit motives are the dominant driving forces—with a new and unique membership element: through a contribution of €6.00 or more per month via direct debit, every participant becomes a co-owner of the films to be produced and distributed by the NNFP.

Through the membership element, the NNFP aims to build a sustainable relationship with the participants. The focus is on the production and distribution of multiple films for the long term, in which interaction with the participants forms an essential part. This includes online casting, poster design, finding locations, extras, finding new film projects, etc. The Internet (www.nnfp.nl) and social media (Facebook, Twitter) will be of essential importance in this regard.

Participation in the NNFP effectively brings forward the moment when the film enthusiast buys their film. Participants decide for themselves which film they would like to see even before it is made. This represents a fundamental change in the entire feature film distribution model. Moreover, 50% of the annual profit generated by films financed through the NNFP is distributed to the participants.

Initially, the NNFP's funding model will be used exclusively for the realization of four Dutch low-budget horror films developed by House of Netherhorror, for which the screenplays were developed with support from the Commercial Film Intendant of the Netherlands Film Fund. These are BIJLMER VOODOO by Barend de Voogd and Erwin van den Eshof, DE POEL by Chris W. Mitchell, IN HET DUISTER by Mark Weistra, and NIEUW BLOED by Edwin Visser and Frank van Geloven. In the future, however, the NNFP will also focus on financing other film projects.

(*) Crowdfunding is the brainstorming, sharing, and financing (often through small donations) of projects by online groups, in which social media plays a prominent role. Crowdfunding has taken off over the past two years. The best-known example is undoubtedly Kickstarter.com, where people can support art, culture, and film projects. More than 50 million euros has already been raised via Kickstarter.com for many projects worldwide. In the Netherlands, we are familiar with Voordekunst.nl, Tenpages.com, and Cinecrowd.nl, among others.

For more information about the NNFP: www.nnfp.nl

For more information about House of Netherhorror: www.houseofnetherhorror.nl



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