Producer Stetz Film has acquired the rights to the highly acclaimed book *Geen cent spijt* (Not a Cent Regrets) by war correspondent and author Arnold Karskens. The book provides a revealing portrait of Frans van Anraat, the first Dutchman to stand trial for genocide. Screenwriters Hein Schütz and Alma Popeyus, known for the award-winning TV dramas *De Enclave*, *Offers*, and the VARA series *Deadline*, among others, are working on the script. The intended director is Arno Dierikx, known for the VARA drama series *Deadline* and the feature film *Bloedbroeders*, among others. Stetz Film has taken the initiative to turn this true story into a revealing and suspenseful feature film for television. The intended broadcast is in the spring of 2012.

The book *Geen cent spijt* (a quote by Van Anraat), published by JM Meulenhoff, describes in detail the remarkable life of the Dutch *Ali Chemicali*, Frans van Anraat. In the 1980s, this Dutch businessman supplied thousands of tons of raw material for poison gas to Iraq. This enabled dictator Saddam Hussein to deploy mustard gases and nerve agents en masse against civilians and soldiers. Frans van Anraat is the only Dutchman to have ever been on the US FBI's Most Wanted list. He maintained close contacts with Saddam Hussein's regime and is said to have been a very important informant for the AIVD.
Karskens discovers how the war criminal, driven by an insatiable hunger for money and women, managed to circumvent international export bans for years through ingenious routes and shell companies. Frans van Anraat is the first Dutchman ever charged with genocide and the first Dutchman to be convicted of crimes against humanity after World War II. On appeal, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Stetz Film focuses on developing and producing distinctive films with a clear signature resulting from idiosyncratic choices regarding themes, style, and narrative. Stetz Film aims to tell striking, intriguing stories about real people navigating an ever-faster changing world. Accessible films that touch the viewer personally, open eyes, and leave a lasting impression. Films, too, with social relevance, rooted in contemporary Dutch culture.

Arnold Karskens (1954) is known as one of the Netherlands' best and most tenacious war correspondents. He writes for the daily newspaper De Pers and regularly contributes to Dutch and Flemish radio and television stations. *Geen cent spijt* was published by JM Meulenhoff in 2006. Previously published by JM Meulenhoff are *Pleisters op de ogen, pleisters op de mond*, *Reizen langs de frontlijn*, and *Onze man in Bagdad*.



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