Golden calves this year without male and female category

The Netherlands Film Festival (NFF) will discontinue the categories for Best Male and Female Roles at Gouden Kalveren, the Netherlands’ most important film awards. The reason is the debate about inclusivity (gender).

“NFF is moving in the zeitgeist and has chosen to eliminate discrimination between men and women in the acting awards,” the organization says.

diversity

These are the awards for Best Leading Role and Best Supporting Role in Movies and Dramas. Last year, actor Shannen Al Hummus received the award for his leading role in the movie The promise of Pisa. Among the women, Beppie Melissen received the award for her acting in Romi hair salon. So this year, there will be no distinction between actors and actresses. The festival wants to make the award ceremony more inclusive and diverse.

There will also be a new award: Best Leading Role in a Short Film. Only one prize will be awarded for this. By the way, in recent years there have also been other categories in which only one award was awarded, such as best director and best screenwriter.

Earlier, the German Berlinale had already decided to make the awards for best film roles gender-neutral. “As a result, we opened the discussion here,” NFF Director Silvia van der Heyden says at Radio NOS 1 News. Other award ceremonies in the film sector, such as the Academy Awards and Baftas, have kept categories based on gender this year.

According to the NFF director, there have also been measures in recent years to make the jury more diverse. It is made up of people working in the film sector, such as directors, screenwriters, and actors. They can register via Dutch Film Academy Participation.

This year’s NFF will be from September 24 to October 2. The festival hosts film screenings across the country.