deBuren

They are very popular in the Netherlands. Films and serials with a multicultural theme and a partly foreign cast. Hundreds of thousands of people went to see films like Shouf Shouf Habibi and Het schnitzelparadijs. And the television serial Dunya and Desie got high ratings.

A study has been made of this trend and it appears that success comes because the films relate better to the lives of young people. For them the Netherlands is no longer the land of Bartje and the Chameleon, in which everyone has blond hair and red cheeks. But were they really part of the audience? Or did it comprise mainly people with Dutch nationality but of foreign origin?  Or does the conclusion of the study hit the nail on the head and is this all a fine example of tolerance and mutual understanding in the Netherlands? And what does this tell us about Flanders? Why is it that we don't see these films here? Why has a Flemish version of Shouf shouf habibi not yet been made?

A debate with Khalid Boudou (author of Het Schnitzelparadijs) and Sadik Harchaoui (head of FORUM) and others; the debate is moderated by Steven de Foer.