Golden Calf (award)
| Golden Calf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Best in film and television programs |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Presented by | Nederlands Film Festival |
| First awarded | 1981 |
The Golden Calf (Dutch: Gouden Kalf) is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best actor, Best actress, Best film, Best Short film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention. In 2004, there were 16 award categories, mainly because in 2003 the categories Best Camera, Best Montage, Best Music, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design were added.
Famous Dutch film makers and actors that have won a Golden Calf include Rutger Hauer, Louis van Gasteren, Paul Verhoeven, Eddy Terstall, Carice van Houten, Fons Rademakers, Martin Koolhoven, Alex van Warmerdam, Fedja van Huêt, Jean van de Velde, Dick Maas, Marleen Gorris, Ian Kerkhof, Jeroen Krabbé, Monic Hendrickx and Rijk de Gooyer.
Name and meaning
The name refers to an animal as is common in names of European film awards, such as the Golden Bear of the Berlin Film Festival and the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival, and cattle is one of the most common types of livestock in the Netherlands.[1] The name of the award also refers to an incident in the Hebrew Bible where a golden statue of a bull (intended to represent God) was made by Aaron, which was later destroyed by Moses because the Torah prohibits making any physical representations of the god of Israel. Jury member in 2002 Martin Koolhoven says the Dutch Calvinist culture is more relativizing than proud: "This is why the Golden Calf is such a good prize, because of the wink that is included. Real foreign countries have golden lions and golden bears. We have a golden calf and after all it is sinful to worship it."[1]
In 1995 Rijk de Gooyer threw his Golden Calf statuette on the street in the reality TV series Taxi (the Dutch version of Taxicab Confessions), when he was picked up by a taxi after a dissatisfying closing ceremony at the Netherlands Film Festival.[1] In 1999 he let Maarten Spanjer, the host of Taxi, throw his Golden Calf for Krassen in het Tafelblad out of the window.
Award Categories
Film Awards
- Culture Prize
- Best long feature film
- Best Director
- Best Script
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Short film
- Best long documentary
- Best Short Documentary
- Best Camera
- Best Montage
- Best Music
- Best Production Design
- Best Sound Design
TV awards
- Best Actor in a Television Drama
- Best Actress in a Television Drama
- Best Acting in a Television Drama
- Best Television Drama
Special awards
- Special Jury Prize
- Public Prize
- Development Prize
- Awards only awarded once or twice are:
- Best Film of the Century (1999) - Paul Verhoeven & Rob Houwer for Turks Fruit
- Control Award (1994, 1992) - Cor Koppies (1994), J.Th. van Taalingen (1992)
- Best Commercial (1990, 1991) - Todd Masters for Woonruimte gevraagd (1991), Trevor Wrenn voor Hamka's (1990)
- Best European Film (1994, 1995) - Kazimierz Kutz for Turned Back (1995), Jonathan Cavendisch & Tim Palmer for Into the West (1994)
Retired awards
- Occupation Award
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
- Honourable mention
Winners
References
- 1 2 3 Jungmann, Bart (2002-10-03). "Hé, het lijkt de Oscars wel" [Hey, it looks like the Oscars do]. cinema.nl. Retrieved 2007-01-07.(translation at )