Amsterdam to get Film Coordinator

DutchAmsterdam.nl — The City of Amsterdam is appointing a film coordinator who will be the central go-to person for exemptions and permissions to film anywhere in town.

The coordinator will be appointed in January.

Amsterdam is Holland’s most popular film location. Amsterdam is used as a backdrop in dozens of Dutch movies and TV series.

The city also figures in scenes of many foreign movies, of which Diamonds Are Forever and Oceans 12 are best known.

Technically, no permit is required for filming in the streets of Amsterdam. Anyone can freely photograph or film in public areas, as doing so is considered free news gathering.

However, the support facilities — especially for medium- to large scale filming operations — usually require cooperation or a permit from a neighborhood council, particularly if filming will hinder traffic or create a nuisance for local residents.

Amsterdam’s Center borough alone gives out more than 500 exemptions a year to movie crews. These exemptions cover anything from temporarily blocking parking spaces to altering the street-scape by placing decors or removing objects.

But film crews have complained about the amount of red tape — in particular the fact that exemptions and permits have to be requested from each invidual city borough in which filming is to take place.

Moreoever, the different boroughs each take a different approach to the permit process.

Amsterdam Film Protocol

In 2007 the City establish a Film Protocol, a first step toward streamlining the process of obtaining exemptions or permits to film. The appointment of a film coordinator is a logical next step.

After all, research has shown that Amsterdam has much to gain from a commitment to provide better service to the film industry, local daily Het Parool reports.

Alderman Carolien Gehrels mentions the marketing value of Amsterdam as a backdrop to movies seen throughout the country and the world

In additon Amsterdam benefits from the film industry’s contribution to turnover and employment opportunies.

“The economic values of Amsterdam’s film sector is, with a yearly turnover of about 170 million Euro and some 4700 jobs, substantial,” Gehrels says. — DutchAmsterdam.nl

See Also

• The Internet Movie Database has a list of movies and TV series filmed in Amsterdam
• Amsterdam film protocol