Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Dutch director murdered
Filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who recently completed a film about violence against Islamic women, has been stabbed and shot dead in Amsterdam.
Nov 3 2004
Controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh has been killed while cycling near
The director’s credits include 'Baby Blue' and 'Interview' and he recently completed 'Visions of Europe', a film in which 25 film-makers from the 25 member states of the European Union made five-minute shorts about life in their country. Van Gogh's entry was entitled 'Euroquiz' and the project was recently screened at the London Film Festival.
He caused controversy earlier in the year when his short film 'Submission' was shown on Dutch television. Dealing with violence against women in Islamic societies, it revolved around a Muslim woman forced into an arranged marriage in which she was abused by her husband and raped by her uncle. The film caused outrage amongst Dutch Muslims when it hit TV screens.
Van Gogh, who was 47, made the movie together with liberal politician and Somali refugee Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and the pair of them had both received death threats following the film's screening. The threat was thought to be so great that Ali has been under police protection since the film was aired.
The director, a direct descendant of the brother of famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, had courted controversy throughout his career, and his recently completed film '06/05' was a fictional account of the events that lead to the assassination of extreme right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn in May 2002.
Speaking of van Gogh's murder, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said: 'It is unacceptable if expressing your opinion would be the cause of this brutal murder.'
He added: 'On a day like this we are reminded of the murder of Fortuyn. We cannot resign ourselves to such a climate.'
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The Coens' 'Burn after Reading': review
Pitt and Clooney star in the Coen brothers' latest, 'Burn After Reading', which opened the 2008 Venice film festival
John C Reilly on ‘Step Brothers’
Method man turned slapstick comic John C Reilly talks to Time Out about his new film ‘Step Brothers’
Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’
Wally Hammond talks to Guy Ritchie about his latest film, ‘RocknRolla’ which sees him safely back in his old manor among the familiar carnival of villains, scams and high-octane spills and thrills
Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’
Dave Calhoun discovers from director Saul Dibb that his latest, 'The Duchess’ is far from your typical aristos-in-love movie
Opinion: Can George Lucas still make ‘small’ movies?
With the release of animated spin-off 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', Tom Huddleston wonders whether George Lucas will ever return to his roots.







What do you think?
Post your comment now