DOWNTOWN
by Michiel van Erp
The Netherlands, 2026, 98’
After ruling Amsterdam’s most electrifying gay club in the ‘80s, three friends reunite to relive a time of wild nights and reckless love, as hidden truths come to light.
Lennart and Ronnie find themselves in the centre of the hedonistic nightclub Downtown in 1980s Amsterdam. While Ronnie sets the mood from the DJ booth, Lennart owns the dance floor and catches the eye of many men, but only one truly catches his: 20-year-old artist Bas. As the three of them begin planning their future, more and more regulars start to vanish from Downtown. Over time, the atmosphere in the local paradise changes, and with it, the relationship between the three young men. When they reunite years later, their bond, rooted in memories of love and euphoric excess, still lingers as they revisit the unspoken truths and choices that changed their lives forever.
Cast & Crew
With: Yorick van Wageningen, Hans Kesting, Roeland Fernhout, Daniel Cornelissen, Sebastián Mrkvicka & Thor Braun
Production company: Kaap Holland Film & Het Familiedrama
Producers: Maarten Swart, Monique Busman & Michiel van Erp
Co-producers: Peter Bouckaert, Wilco Wolfers, Caspar Wenckebach & Robert Kievit
Michiel van Erp
Michiel van Erp is an award-winning director of feature films, television series, documentaries, and theatre productions. Over the course of his career, he has received a range of awards and nominations, including the Prix Europa, the Golden Calf, the Silver Nipkowschijf, and two Dutch Directors Guild Awards.
Born in Eindhoven in 1963, Van Erp graduated from the Technical University of Delft in 1988 with a degree in Industrial Design. Between 1988 and 1992, he worked as an actor before turning to directing in 1993. He first gained widespread recognition with the documentary series “Long Live…”, which portrayed the hopes and desires of ordinary Dutch people and ran for seven years on Dutch television, earning both national and international awards. His feature documentary debut, “A Funfair behind the Dikes” (“Pretpark Nederland”, 2007), became a major success in Dutch cinemas.
Van Erp went on to direct several acclaimed documentaries. His international feature documentary “I Am a Woman Now” (2011) explored the lives of the first generation of transgender women to undergo gender reassignment surgery. In “MH17: A Nation’s Grief” (2015), he offered a powerful portrait of how the MH17 disaster in Ukraine impacted Dutch society.
His drama debut, the television series “Ramses” (2014), was both a critical and commercial success, winning several national and international awards. Many notable drama productions followed. After the release of his feature film “Stromboli” in 2021, Van Erp directed his first English-language feature, “A Beautiful Imperfection”. That same year, he completed the critically acclaimed series “Een van Ons” (“The Hunt”), which received awards for Best Direction, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.
Alongside his film and television work, Van Erp is also an established theatre director. He has worked extensively with International Theatre Amsterdam, home to renowned directors including Ivo van Hove, Simon Stone, and Nanouk Leopold.
Since 2004, Van Erp has been co-owner of the production company De Familie Film & TV and Het Familie Drama together with producer Monique Busman.
