Kristallen Film Award: 10,000 cinema visitors for documentary CUSTOMERY JOURNEY

The documentary KLANTREIS by filmmaker Ton van Zantvoort has surpassed 10,000 cinema visitors and has therefore received the Crystal Film Award. The Crystal Film Award is an initiative of the Netherlands Film Festival, the Netherlands Film Fund and the Abraham Tuschinski Fund, and is awarded to Dutch documentaries and short films that attract more than 10,000 cinema visitors.

Van Zantvoort: “During the nearly four years I worked on this film, I often heard: who would go to the cinema for a documentary about civic integration? I am incredibly happy that the film is already reaching so many people.”

The documentary had its world premiere at the end of March at the Movies that Matter Festival and follows several newcomers and institutions involved in the Dutch civic integration process, without interviews or voice-over narration. What starts as a story about integration evolves into a broader question: how do we function in a society that has become increasingly complex? And if we barely understand the system ourselves, how can we expect newcomers to navigate it?

The film has received wide attention in national media and among organizations that work daily with civic integration.

De Volkskrant awarded KLANTREIS ★★★★ and called it “a shocking documentary about a hyper regulated entry into Dutch society.”

Het Parool described it as “a dryly comic film full of Jiskefet-like situations, equally funny, tragic and confronting.”

The documentary has also received praise beyond the film world. The Association of Netherlands Municipalities called the film “a mirror for governments” and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment described KLANTREIS as “recommended viewing for anyone wanting to understand how civic integration really works.”

The way the film found its audience is remarkable as well. After no distributor was willing to release a documentary on this topic, production company NEWTON Film decided to handle the distribution independently. KLANTREIS is now screening in more than 70 cinemas across the Netherlands. Many screenings are followed by discussions with the filmmaker, protagonists, policymakers and partner organizations. The documentary is also used during private impact screenings for municipalities, ministries and social organizations to stimulate concrete improvements in policy and implementation.

See all screenings here: https://newtonfilm.nl/films/klantreis/#vertoningen