Dutch fund spent €550,000 on unmade Peter Greenaway, Dustin Hoffman, Helen Hunt film

The Netherlands Film Fund awarded over €550,000 in subsidies to a feature film by Peter Greenaway, starring Dustin Hoffman and Helen Hunt, that never made it to the screen. The uncertainty about whether the movie would ever be released existed from the outset, but the Film Fund ignored its own rules and fronted the production money without doing the proper checks, according to an investigation by Nieuwsuur and NRC.

The film in question is Lucca Morti by the renowned British arthouse director Peter Greenaway, who lives in Amsterdam. The movie had an estimated budget exceeding €13 million, with Oscar winners Hoffman and Hunt in the starring roles. In 2023, the Film Fund pledged over €600,000 in subsidies to the film through a scheme designed to encourage filmmakers to hire Dutch personnel and boost the Dutch film industry.

In doing so, the Film Fund ignored several of its own requirements for the grant, including the guarantee that the film will be released in the Netherlands. The Film Fund decided to waive this requirement because “we believe in the production,” business director George van Breemen said, according to Nieuwsuur. This confidence stemmed from “the director, the cast, and the individuals with extensive track records” involved in the project.

The Film Fund also failed to conduct background checks on the lead producer, Facing East, whose owners were involved in legal proceedings in three different countries due to non-payment of debt when the Dutch subsidy was applied for. Facing East also claimed to have already secured half of the film’s funding - another of the Film Fund’s requirements - but the Film Fund never actually checked.

The Dutch production company Witfilm submitted the subsidy application, stating that Netflix was in the process of drafting a contract worth €2.5 million. When Nieuwsuur and NRC inquired, Netflix said it did not know about the project.

The money issues were visible from the start, Nieuwsuur wrote. On the first day of shooting, Dustin Hoffman did not show up because he had not been paid. Witfilm never informed the Film Fund, though the rules require them to do so. When filming finally began, it was halted multiple times due to overdue payments. Several involved individuals did eventually report the issues to the Film Fund.

After filming, there were also issues with the editing process. Facing East created a version without involving director Greenaway. This version also remains unfinished because several individuals who worked on it are still owed money, some amounting to tens of thousands of euros. Facing East submitted an unfinished version of the film to the Cannes Film Festival.

Despite all of this, the Film Fund paid out the third installment of the subsidy last year after Witfilm informed the Fund that it had the final version of the film. According to the Film Fund’s own rules, it can only make payments after it has reviewed and approved the final cut. The fund failed to do so and, according to Nieuwsuur, the final version never actually existed.

Jacobine van den Brink, a professor of administrative law, describes the Film Fund’s actions as negligent. “When providing advances, you must ensure that all requirements have been met, as this involves public funds.” The sudden decision to waive the required guarantee that the film be released in the Netherlands is “neither fair nor transparent,” she told Nieuwsuur, “especially not toward other potential applicants who might refrain from applying because they believe they have no chance of success.”

The Film Fund responded that the Nieuwsuur and NRC investigation had brought “new information” to light. The Film Fund said it has told Witfilm to provide a release date for the film before the end of the year, or it would consider further action.

Witfilm told Nieuwsuur that its role in the film was “very limited,” stressing that it holds only a 6 percent stake. “Therefore, the Film Fund’s rules apply to only 6 percent of the film,” the director said in writing.