....and suddenly, the Dutch release is upon us! I had heard rumours from our sales agent that the Dutch were planning a theatrical release, but the first real confirmation came when I discovered there was a request for trailers. Hurray, it's really happening! Next, an e-mail arrived from a Dutch film festival, Africa in the Picture, inviting Sandra Laing to Amsterdam... and when they discovered I live in London, not Los Angeles (as they imagined), they asked if I'd be willing to fly over as well.

I asked the festival organisers whether the Dutch distributor, European Film Partners, had been in touch, and was told they were in constant communication. A phone call to the distributor provided yet more good news: apparently they initially planned a very small release, but decided to do some test screenings. The public - tough, art-house cinema-goers - gave SKIN the highest ratings of any film released in 2009. Realising they might have a hit on their hands, EFP decided to widen the release and really get behind it. It seems like common sense - asking the public in advance whether they might like a film, before deciding on the scale of release. Why none of our other distributors are following this logic remains a mystery to me...

The Dutch of course have a long history with South Africa, having been its first European colonisers in the 17th century. They were violently anti-apartheid and are proud of their human rights record (viz: all those tribunals in The Hague). I can see why the Dutch might really take to SKIN.

So with trailers and posters already in the cinemas, a release date of 17th September, plus Sandra and I doing our best to promote the film  - here's hoping that the rest of Europe - and possibly the world - will sit up and take notice if we make it big in Holland.