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DOWNTOWN (EN)

DOWNTOWN (EN)

MICHIEL VAN ERP | NETHERLANDS | 2026 | 100 MIN | DUTCH EST

MICHIEL VAN ERP | NETHERLANDS | 2026 | 100 MIN | DUTCH EST

IN-CINEMAFeature

Subtitles: English

NOV 29 / 13:00Cinéma JA de Sève (LB-125) | Concordia University 1400 Boul. de Maisonneuve O. Montréal, QC H3G 1M8 (métro Guy-Concordia)

Synopsis

Three estranged friends fatefully gather for a dinner party during the COVID-19 pandemic. Confined, they are forced to confront the errors of their fabulous yet turbulent downtown days and nights in 1980s Amsterdam, and the aftermath of an even more insidious plague. An art school degree, a restaurant of one’s own, a life of endless excess—divergent ambitions drive Bas (Thor Braun / Roeland Fernhout), Ronnie (Daniel Cornelissen / Yorick van Wageningen), and Lennart (Sebastián Mrkvicka / Hans Kesting) as their love triangle tests their loyalties. On the cusp of the AIDS crisis, it seems the party might never end. The three celebrate firsts on strobe-lit dancefloors and sun-drenched beaches, but their combined optimism, activism, and sexual confidence cannot halt the hollowing out to come. A time when even their strongest convictions might collapse. Director Michiel van Erp’s three-hander uses deft match-cuts and balanced story beats to vitalize Frank Houtappels’ superbly structured script, pulling us between equally riveting time periods and protagonists. A collaboration that makes Downtown a sure-to-be-enduring masterwork about the strained necessity of going it alone and the even tougher triumph of connection.

Trailer

Filmmaker Bio

Michiel van Erp is an award-winning Dutch director working across feature films, television, documentaries and theatre. Born in Eindhoven in 1963, he studied Industrial Design at Delft University of Technology before beginning his directing career in 1993. He gained recognition with the documentary series Long Live... and later directed A Funfair behind the Dikes, I Am a Woman Now and MH17: A Nation's Grief. His drama series Ramses received multiple awards, followed by feature films including Stromboli and A Beautiful Imperfection. Van Erp also directs theatre and has co-owned De Familie Film & TV since 2004.

Director's Statement

In recent years, I've been wanting to make a film that reflects the liberating, yet turbulent, gay scene of the 1980s and early 1990s. I personally lived through that period, and it has left a profound impression on me. […] With the unique, vibrant nightclub Downtown as the arena, I want to reach a broad crossover audience with an honest portrayal of friendship and solidarity. […] I want to speak to a generation that has little to no knowledge of what happened at the end of the previous century. It's important to know your history.

Producer

Maarten Swart, Monique Busman, Michiel van Erp

Writer

Frank Houtappels

Cast

  • Yorick van Wageningen
  • Hans Kesting
  • Roeland Fernhout
  • Daniel Cornelissen
  • Sebastián Mrkvicka
  • Thor Braun
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DOWNTOWN (FR)100 minutesNOV 21 / 19:00

Three estranged friends fatefully gather for a dinner party during the COVID-19 pandemic. Confined, they are forced to confront the errors of their fabulous yet turbulent downtown days and nights in 1980s Amsterdam, and the aftermath of an even more insidious plague. An art school degree, a restaurant of one’s own, a life of endless excess—divergent ambitions drive Bas (Thor Braun / Roeland Fernhout), Ronnie (Daniel Cornelissen / Yorick van Wageningen), and Lennart (Sebastián Mrkvicka / Hans Kesting) as their love triangle tests their loyalties. On the cusp of the AIDS crisis, it seems the party might never end. The three celebrate firsts on strobe-lit dancefloors and sun-drenched beaches, but their combined optimism, activism, and sexual confidence cannot halt the hollowing out to come. A time when even their strongest convictions might collapse. Director Michiel van Erp’s three-hander uses deft match-cuts and balanced story beats to vitalize Frank Houtappels’ superbly structured script, pulling us between equally riveting time periods and protagonists. A collaboration that makes Downtown a sure-to-be-enduring masterwork about the strained necessity of going it alone and the even tougher triumph of connection.

PosterFeatureIN-CINEMA
DOWNTOWN (FR)100 minutesNOV 21 / 19:00

Three estranged friends fatefully gather for a dinner party during the COVID-19 pandemic. Confined, they are forced to confront the errors of their fabulous yet turbulent downtown days and nights in 1980s Amsterdam, and the aftermath of an even more insidious plague. An art school degree, a restaurant of one’s own, a life of endless excess—divergent ambitions drive Bas (Thor Braun / Roeland Fernhout), Ronnie (Daniel Cornelissen / Yorick van Wageningen), and Lennart (Sebastián Mrkvicka / Hans Kesting) as their love triangle tests their loyalties. On the cusp of the AIDS crisis, it seems the party might never end. The three celebrate firsts on strobe-lit dancefloors and sun-drenched beaches, but their combined optimism, activism, and sexual confidence cannot halt the hollowing out to come. A time when even their strongest convictions might collapse. Director Michiel van Erp’s three-hander uses deft match-cuts and balanced story beats to vitalize Frank Houtappels’ superbly structured script, pulling us between equally riveting time periods and protagonists. A collaboration that makes Downtown a sure-to-be-enduring masterwork about the strained necessity of going it alone and the even tougher triumph of connection.