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The setting is a temple of global commerce, an Apple store in Amsterdam, its clean lines and glass walls suggesting a world of seamless connectivity. Into this space walks Ilian, a Bulgarian visitor on a simple mission to replace his lost AirPods. His mundane errand becomes the inciting incident for iHostage, a film that grounds its terror in the terrifyingly plausible.

A gunman named Ammar enters, fires shots that shatter the minimalist calm, and yanks Ilian into the center of an international crisis. With the Bulgarian as his human shield, Ammar issues his demands: a fortune in cryptocurrency and safe passage.

Outside, police forces scramble to contain the situation. Inside, other customers and employees are scattered, some hiding upstairs, others crammed into a supply closet, all nodes in a network of fear. The film immediately establishes a scenario rooted not in fantasy, but in the specific anxieties of our highly technological and public world.

A man storms into an Apple Store, gun in hand, and fires shots. As he takes customers and employees hostage, the armed man demands a breathtaking amount of money — all in cryptocurrency — before he’ll let anyone go. iHostage, inspired by the 2022 hostage crisis at an Amsterdam Apple Store, follows the attacker and those he’s holding for ransom. Directed by Bobby Boermans and written by Simon de Waal (The Golden Hour), the film stars Soufiane Moussouli, Loes Haverkort, and Marcel Hensema.

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When an armed man, Dutch national Ammar Ajar (Moussouli), enters an Amsterdam Apple Store, he demands a ransom of more than $200 million — and safe passage out of the city. He then takes Ilian Petrov (Šehović), a Bulgarian visitor, as his main hostage. Soon, chief negotiator Lynn (Haverkort) steps in, buying time for a...

Netflix’s iHostage is a tense Dutch thriller that dramatizes the real-life 2022 hostage situation at an Apple Store in Amsterdam. Directed by Bobby Boermans and written by Simon de Waal, the film offers a mosaic-style narrative, presenting the crisis through multiple perspectives, including the perpetrator, hostages, and emergency responders. Premiered globally on April 18, 2025, iHostage delves into the psychological and emotional facets of a city held in suspense. This article provides a comprehensive details about Netflix’s iHostage cast and characters.

Plot Overview

Inspired by the actual events of February 2022, iHostage centers on Ilian, a Bulgarian man who becomes an unwitting hostage when a gunman named Ammar seizes control of an Apple Store in Amsterdam’s Leidseplein district. As the situation unfolds, the film explores the intricate dynamics between the captor, the hostages, and the police negotiators striving to resolve the standoff peacefully. The narrative sheds light on the motivations, fears,...

A boldly unconventional woman gets a crushingly conventional biopic with “Lou Andreas-Salomé, The Audacity to Be Free.” Such a heavy-handed title fits the film perfectly, far more than the original English-language handle, “In Love With Lou,” which confusingly made the movie sound like a sitcom. In her feature debut, director and co-writer Cordula Kablitz-Post clearly decided that Andreas-Salomé, famed author, philosopher and psychoanalyst, needed to be treated not just with kid gloves, but with pristine laminated mitts, robbing her subject of humor, let alone the charm that bewitched the likes of Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke and Sigmund Freud. This one’s strictly for audiences who love historical name-dropping; German box office following its June 2016 opening was negligible.

Kablitz-Post set herself the admirable task of rescuing Andreas-Salomé from being relegated to the role of muse, recognizing that her name is more often featured as an adjunct to famous men rather...

In today's Horror Highlights, we have trailers for The Magnificent Dead and 3 Dead Trick or Treaters, details on Ed Marx editing Death Camp, and news about John Cusack and Christina Ricci joining the cast of Distorted.

The Magnificent Dead: Press Release: Sgl Entertainment is pleased to announce that they have just released The Magnificent Dead an epic western horror film. With a budget of more than a million dollars, this movie has been waiting for more than seven years to be released, but now the wait is over.

Directed by Shane Scott and starring Alexis Celeste Elliott, Jack Wilson, Lavelle White, David Lampe, Gilbert Austinamie Teer, Ric Maddox, Ayla Judson, Venda D’Abato, Sam Anderson, Margaret Hoard, Rick Perkins, John Arkinson, Steve Uzzell, Fred Ellis, Mark A. Hernandez, Joseph Fotinos, Chaille Stidham, Michael Sorrells, Julian Haddad, Karl Anderson, John Weathers, Marita De La Torre, Christian Haddad, Adam Simon, Kale Peel,...

21 Days: The Heineken Kidnapping

Stars: Rutger Hauer, Korneel Evers, Teun Kuilboer, Sallie Harmsen, Marcel Hensema | Written by Maarten Treurniet, Kees van Beijnum | Directed by Maarten Treurniet

Films that are based on true stories can be quite controversial. With 21 Days: The Heineken Kidnapping there is a message at the start of the film to make it clear that it’s a fictional account of events, as if to emphasise that it is not fully the truth, it’s like a legal catch all statement to say they can make it all up. This warning though is probably due to the fact that one of the kidnappers who is still alive is not very happy with the emphasis not only on his character, but the fact that he appears to be somewhat of a sociopath. Then again, although the film is based on the basic facts of the case a lot of it is actually made up,...

Lee Tergesen has joined ABC drama pilot Penoza. The project - based on a Dutch series - will focus on the widow of an assassinated crook who adopts her late husband's criminal ways. Tergesen has been cast as a character named Steven, according to TVLine. In the original show, created by Pieter Bart Korthuis, Steven (Marcel Hensema) is a foot soldier for drug runner Irwan (Fedja van Huet). Tergesen previously appeared on HBO's Oz and Lifetime's Army Wives. He has also featured in episodes (more)...

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced the lineup for its main section, Spectrum: 72 features and documentaries from 32 countries, with descriptions from the Festival, running January 25 through February 5:

World premieres

Cornelia frente al espejo (Cornelia at Her Mirror) - Daniel Rosenfeld, Argentina, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film. A "meticulous and stylish film based on the story by Silvina Ocampo (1903-1993)." Roman Diary - Michael Pilz, Austria. A "meditative film featuring images of a park in Rome." Rua Aperana 52 - Júlio Bressane, Brazil. A "musical film about a street corner in Rio, edited together from old photos and the maker’s own films from the period 1957-2005." Lacan Palestine - Mike Hoolboom, Canada. A "found-footage essay on a complex country and its love-struck inhabitants." 38 témoins (38 Witnesses) - Lucas Belvaux, France, Belgium. Opening Film Iffr 2012. Le reste du monde (The Rest of the World) - Damien Odoul, France. A "family considers issues of identity and relationships.

The Heineken Kidnapping / De Heineken ontvoering Teaser Trailer. Maarten Treurniet‘s The Heineken Kidnapping / De Heineken ontvoering (2011) teaser trailer stars Rutger Hauer, Sallie Harmsen, Marcel Hensema, Gijs Naber, and Ton Kas. The Heineken Kidnapping / De Heineken ontvoering‘s plot synopsis: “The Heineken Kidnapping is based on the kidnapping of beer tycoon Freddy Heineken that hit the news in the Netherlands and abroad in the eighties of the last century. The film exceeds the well known story of the kidnap and goes on to tell the story of Alfred Heineken’s revenge, which culminates in a chase of the kidnappers across the world. Focusing on the psychological power struggle between the successful and charismatic beer brewer and a ruthless young criminal with a grudge”.

I was completely unaware of The Heineken Kidnapping but I believe everyone is aware of Heineken beer. I am looking forward to seeing when Freddy Heineken seeks revenge against the kidnappers.

A kidnap thriller titled The Heineken Kidnapping aka De Heineken ontvoering is being set for release in the Netherlans this October. This is a real life story of how Freddy Heineken was kidnapped and ransomed for $16 million Euros. Freddy was eventually freed, but his kidnappers, including Willem Holleeder and Cor Van Hout, had a less than peaceful life thereafter. Hout would end up murderered and Holleeder is still in jail, serving a term for extortion. Rutger Hauer will star as Freddy Heineken. Have a look at more of the biopic film details on The Heineken Kidnapping below.

The synopsis for The Heineken Kidnapping:

"The Heineken Kidnapping is based on the kidnap of beer tycoon Heineken that hit the news in the Netherlands and abroad in the eighties of the last century. The film exceeds the well known story of the kidnap and goes on to tell the story of Alfred Heineken's revenge,...

AMSTERDAM -- The children's adventure Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek (Crusade in Jeans), directed by Ben Sombogaart -- nominated for an Oscar for Twin Sisters -- has nabbed the major award of the 27th edition of the Dutch Film Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. The jury, headed by helmer Paula van der Oest, gave the production from Kasander Film Co. the Golden Calf for best feature film.

Most awards, however, went to the family-drama Tussenstand (Half Time), directed by Mijke de Jong. The film won best screenplay, best sound and best actress for Elsie de Brauw. Tussenstand, which received its world premiere this summer at the Locarno Film Festival, also received the Dutch Critics' Award.

Peter Greenaway received best screenplay for Nightwatching, a conspiracy-theory investigation involving Rembrandt's painting, The Night Watch. The film, also produced by Kasander Film Company, additionally won the Golden Calf for best production design. The best actor award went to Marcel Hensema for playing the manager of Dutch rock legend Herman Brood in the biopic Wild Romance.

Rutger Hauer was one of the Dutch stars who handed out the prizes during the closing ceremony.