Filmtheater Kriterion

Difficult Love + A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here | FREE PRIDE SCREENING | Tonight at 19:30

A two-part screening of Difficult Love (2010) and A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here (2021).

Difficult Love (2010) is about South-African visual artist Zanele Muholi and the political context in which she takes her famed photographs: one that provides hurdles to Black le****ns like herself.

A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here (2021) is about motorcyclist Vange’s first experience of a le***an party after a bout of loneliness, where she meets a group of four polyamorous q***r people.

This screening is part of our Pride programme. Taking place from August 1st to August 4th, Kriterion’s second Pride programme presents pride not as marked by a rainbow logo limited to June, but is rather an ongoing celebration.

Tickets and info via .

BRAT SUMMER NIGHT @ KRITERION | August 7th and August 10th

365 party girls, rise up! Two brat-themed films and an XL BRAT PARTY on August 10th.

Films:
19:00 Party Monster (2003)
21:00 Zola (2020)
22:30 XL BRAT PARTY (only on August 10th)

DJ line-up TBA.

let’s work it out on the remix?

Tickets and info via

Pride Programme | August 1st to 4th

Like every year, we've had to witness corporations awkwardly revert their rainbow imagery when the clock hit midnight on July 1st. We'll say pride is over when it's over (will it ever be?). For this reason, and on the occasion of the 9-day celebration that is Pride Amsterdam, we've decided to host a second pride programme. Find the screenings below!

ANHELL69 | August 1st
Desert Hearts | August 2nd
Dressed in Blue | August 3rd
Difficult Love + A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here | August 4th

Tickets and info via https://kriterion.nl/filmprogrammas/pride

Ma # # , Janet Planet & I Saw the TV Glow | Screening now!

After the success of Hereditary (2018), Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) and Midsommar (2019) A 24 is back with three new jaw-dropping movies!

In Ma # # , Maxine Minx, an aspiring actress and adult film star, finally gets her big break. However, a mysterious killer targets Hollywood stars and soon she becomes the next target. A trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.

Janet Planet is a unique and sublime film debut by Annie Baker which explores the elusiveness and complexity of the changing relationship between a mother and her daughter.

Last but not least, I Saw the TV Glow follows two teenagers, Maddy en Owen, who bond over their mutual love for a supernatural TV-show, which is mysteriously canceled.

🎟Tickets & info via .

Ma # # | T-Shirt Giveaway | Now playing at Kriterion!

Hollywood is a killer, and we're raffling exclusive Ma # # merchandise! Tag who you're going to see Ma # # with in the comments below to enter the giveaway.

You can enter until July 31st!

Tickets and info for Ma # # via the .

Zomerprogramma | Juli & Augustus

Grijze wolken, benauwde lucht
Landje uit, op de vlucht

De zomer is geen zomer meer
Als er geen teken is van zomerweer

Toch is er een enkel oud pand
Niet langs de zee of het strand
In dat kleine grijze natte land

Waar de avonden overvloeien met films en gelach
Bier, wijn, nachos van een laag bedrag
En elke film na middernacht mag
Een bedrijf gescheiden van autoritair gezag
Zonneschijn of regen, het is elke dag...

Zomer in Kriterion!

🎟Tickets & info via .

Filmtheater Kriterion De website van Filmtheater Kriterion

Ex yugo karaoke | Kako je propao rokenrol (Eng subs) | 27/07

In this anthology film, we follow three independent stories about unconventional young people exploring love, music, jealousy and relationships.

In the first story, Koma, a failed rocker, wants to prove to his producer father that newly composed music could be better than his. He becomes a mysterious masked folk singer-known as Ninja.
The second one follows Dracula who falls madly in love. A blonde woman manages to deprive him of eternal life without the help of sunrise.
The last story is about Eve and Djuro. She is creator, he is a musician. They live in a harmonious relationship, but a love letter brings division among them.

This saturday 19:30 followed by karaoke in the foyer!

🎟Tickets & info via

Zomeravond: Ex yugo karaoke avond | 27 juli

The ex yugo karaoke evening is back! After the screenings of Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (1970) and Kako je propao rokenrol (1989) there will be karaoke in the café. So bring all yugo-nostalgics and karaoke lovers!

The poster was inspired by the great Mirko Ilić, who made many of the album covers that shaped the new wave aesthetic. It was made entirely by hand, using collage and paint.

Tickets & info via

Palestinian Shorts Programme | 23rd of July and 30th of July

Kriterion is screening a Palestinian Shorts Programme on two occasions next week, which will include these films:

Your Father Was Born A 100 Years Old, And So Was The Nakba (2017)

In an experimental short film that "channels glitch aesthetics and digital erasure", a Palestinian grandmother revisits Haifa, her hometown, the only way she still can visit Palestine: through Google Streetview (IMDB).

Bethlehem 2001 (2020)

A young Palestinian recollects the military invasion and siege of Bethlehem, interchanged with reflections on his current conditions.

Strange Cities are Familiar (2019)

Based on the writing of Mourid Barghout, a Palestinian political refugee living in London attempts to return to his homeland to see his dying son, injured in protest, one last time.

The Seven Villages (2020)

A documentation of a video call between director Farah Abou Kharroub, a recent inhabitant of Prague, and her Lebanon-based grandmother in which they touch on the Lebanese citizenship that was granted to Palestinians in 1994 and a range of other themes.

Tickets and more information via: https://kriterion.nl/films/palestinian-shorts-eng-subs

Ridderavond (Knight Evening) | Kriterion Zomeravond | 23rd of July and 31st of July at 19:15

It is our great honour to present to you our knight-themed summer evening special!

Come by for a special screening of Dutch television series Floris, a 16th-century story about the knight Floris van Roozemond, who is forced to pick a side in battle after he finds his castle occupied by an enemy. Together with his comrade, he embarks on a quest to regain his birth right documents.

The screening will be followed by a mystery knight-themed screening. We give you our word that it will be an utmost enjoyable evening!

Tickets and info via: https://kriterion.nl/films/special-knight-screening

Naila and the Uprising (ENG subtitles) | Free Screening | 21st of July, 21:00 in K2

Naila Ayesh, a Palestinian woman in Gaza, joins a covert group of women that played an active role in the 1987 uprising against the Israeli occupation, which underscored the need for the right to Palestinian self-determination. The partly animated film shows the manner in which Ayesh, two-time prisoner to Israel, manages to combine "love, family and freedom" in her participation in the uprising.

Entrance to this film is free, and thus admittance will be on a first-come first-served basis.

More information: https://kriterion.nl/films/naila-and-the-uprising

Southern Summer Brunch Series vol. 4 | Catering at Kriterion | Sunday 14th of July

Another edition of Southern Summer Brunch Series is coming to Kriterion this Sunday! Read Jess' announcement of her next edition below...

"Jess is a passionate home cook hailing all the way from Louisiana and is bringing some good ol’ southern comfort to Kriterion this summer. Get ready for some good eatin’ to cure your hangovers in the coming weekends, with a rotating menu of authentic soul food classics to warm your heart.

Tex Mex gets a bad rep from foodie snobs who say it’s not “real Mexican food” but that’s kind of the whole point! Tex Mex comes from the rich culture of Tejano people (descendants of Native American and Spanish descent) of southwest USA. As if tacos and burritos weren’t already absolutely bangin’, Texans gave us the breakfast taco. Praise the lord. This week I present to you the breakfast taco, my favorite pre-festival meal when I used to visit Austin for ACL Fest."

Swipe for the mouth-watering menu!

Zomerklassieker: A Swedish Love Story | August & Juli

As the week comes to an end a small garage wraps up operations and the workers receive their wages. It is the peak of summer, a time to savor life. Per and Annika meet in an idyllic park. Their chance encounter solidifies when they discover that they are both visiting their relatives at the same hospital - one their grandfather, the other their aunt.

These elderly, sick individuals are the first visible signs of the rigid, desperate, disappointed, and lonely world of adults. Meanwhile, the young lovers, Per and Annika, cautiously attempt to grow closer, transcending social status and class boundaries. They create a world of their own, an endearing, almost naive universe, which stands as the only beacon of hope, contrasting sharply with the disillusioned adult world.

🎟Tickets & info via .

KOM VANAVOND NAAR KRITERION voor voetbal en ondermaatse service en als je denkt dat Kriterion gepiekt heeft tussen 2015 en 2019

swipe om je favoriete oud-kriteriers weer achter de bar te zien, of kom naar de bar en ervaar ze live, achter de bar

Sneak Preview | Every Tuesday at 21:00

Every Tuesday at Kriterion, we screen a "Sneak Preview": a first screening of an unreleased film. Apart from a single "hint" ahead of the screening, attendees have no idea what film they'll see, documentary or thriller, from drama to comedy. Among the movies' first critics, they'll get to rate the movie afterwards, and tell us what's "good" and what's "bad".

Our audience a gave the last sneak preview, Femme (2023) an 8.1 (with a lot of 9's in the mix!). While our critics found that the film had a 'challenging moral, tackled difficult topics" and that it was "well acted by hot actors", they did note that the film "missed the perspective of one of the characters". Also, one critic rightfully pointed out that the "huge apartment in the UK" was "unrealistic".

Come check out our next sneak preview on July 9th, which will be in English with Dutch Subtitles.

Tickets and info: https://kriterion.nl/films/sneak-preview

Zomerklassieker: Night on Earth | 9, 16 & 19 juli 🚕🌃

Five cities. Five cabs. New encounters in the night. Five transient stories of urban uprooting and existential angst shared among cab drivers and their passengers. Spread across time zones, continents and languages, Night on Earth winds its way through scenes of exuberant comedy, nocturnal poetry and bleak fatalism, alongside an atmospheric soundtrack by Tom Waits.

Screenings:
09/07 | 21:30
16/07 | 21:30
19/07 | 21:00

🎟Tickets & info via

Framing Agnes | TranScreen | Wednesday, June 10th at 19:15

Kriterion is hosting another TranScreen film! Read the Amsterdam transgender film festival's description of Framing Agnes below:

"After discovering case files from a 1950s gender clinic, a cast of trans actors turn a talk show inside out to confront the legacy of a young trans woman forced to choose between honesty and access. Agnes, the pioneering, pseudonymized, transgender woman who participated in Harold Garfinkel’s gender health research at UCLA in the 1960s, has long stood as a figurehead of trans history. In this rigorous cinematic exercise that blends fiction and nonfiction, director Chase Joynt explores where and how her platform has become a pigeonhole. Framing Agnes endeavors to widen the frame through which trans history is viewed — one that has remained too narrow to capture the multiplicity of experiences eclipsed by Agnes."

Tickets and info via: https://kriterion.nl/films/framing-agnes

Zomeravond: Bingo | 10 en 13 juli

Neem je geluksbrenger mee en kom naar onze Bingo Zomeravond in Kriterion! In het teken van deze avond vertonen we Dreaming by Numbers (2006) en Some Kind of Heaven (2020). Na de vertoningen kun je je eigen geluk uitdagen tijdens onze bingoavond!

🎟Tickets en info via

Mama Sranan (ENG subtitles) | Keti Koti Screening | July 1st, 19:15

Kriterion's screening for Keti Koti, the annual Suriname emancipation day, this year: Mama Sranan (Mother Suriname).

Filmmaker and author Tessa Leuwsha documents the life of her grandmother Fancelyne ‘Fansi’ Cummings, a washerwoman, and implicitly that of other Surinamese women like her. Her story about finding community and (self-)recognition away from a (colonized) home, unfolds in a mix of song, story, and colorised archival footage.

A castaway child of a white mother and black father, a social shame, her grandmother gains colonial consciousness in her observation of unfair labour relations. She eventually follows her children to The Netherlands, albeit begrudgingly: “In Holland, paradise is like a shadow, just in front of you or behind you, never with you.” (IDFA).

The filmmaker, who scouted out material at Eye, had little archival footage available to her: "Suriname counted as a forgotten colony. That didn't get filmed as much as the Dutch Indies." (VPRO), yet managed to create an impressive and important film with the means she had available to her.

Get your tickets here: https://kriterion.nl/films/mama-sranan-eng-subs

Zomeravond: Carry Slee & Just Dance in het café! | 3 en 6 juli

Herbeleef deze zomer je puberteit met onze Carry Slee zomeravond! 2x zijn de 2 verfilmde klassiekers van Carry Slee, Afblijven (2006) en Timboektoe (2007) te zien in Kriterion. Op 3 juli zullen deze worden afgesloten met een Just Dance Wii party in de foyer!

Info & tickets via

Kinds of Kindness | Pre-premiere June 29th & 30th

Before the official premiere, watch Yorgos Lanthimos' latest film, 'Kinds of Kindness,' at Kriterion! This absurdist dark comedy anthology takes viewers through a triptych of fables. At its core, a man struggles against fate to regain control of his life. Meanwhile, a police officer confronts the eerie return of his vanished wife, who now appears as a stranger. While a determined woman searches for an individual with a unique talent destined to become a beacon of spiritual enlightenment.

Pre-premiere:
June 29th | 20:50
June 30th | 13:45

Regular screenings from July 4th onwards!

🎟 Tickets & info via

Mysterious Skin (2004) | Pride Month | Sunday, June 30th at 19:15

A traumatic childhood event alters the lives of two teenage boys in radically different ways: one becomes a promiscuous gay pr******te, the other a boy who lives in his own fantasy about UFOs and aliens.

Mysterious Skin is part of our Pride Month programme. Find tickets and other screenings during Pride Month here: https://kriterion.nl/filmprogrammas/pride-programme-2024

Southern Summer Brunch vol. 3 | Catering at Kriterion | Sunday, June 30th

After two successful editions, Jess is back with brunch this Sunday! See what she has to say about the next edition:

"Jess is a passionate home cook hailing all the way from Louisiana and is bringing some good ol’ southern comfort to Kriterion this summer. Get ready for some good eatin’ to cure your hangovers in the coming weekends, with a rotating menu of authentic soul food classics to warm your heart.

Brunch is getting sweet & sticky this week with pecan praline pancakes! Pralines are a classic Louisiana candy brought to us during the French colonial period. We made it our own by using pecans and I recently discovered that it makes an amazing addition to pancake.

For those who are craving a more savory hangover cure, I’m bringing back the grits bowl from the first edition. Mix and match the toppings for you bowl to create your favorite combination. The pancakes are vegetarian, the grits bowl can be customized for both vegans and carnivores."

KRITERION x KANAAL40 pt. 2 | June 26th from 20:00 until 04:00 | Free entrance

This Friday, Kriterion will take over Kanaal40 for one last time! As Kanaal40 heads toward it's final days (for now!), current and past Kriterion staff members will join forces for a second time to showcase what the iconic theatre is (and has been) made of.

Line-up:
Bahalia
Nushin b2b Magali
dengdeng b2b Passie
jp'♡ b2b One-Click-Rick
charleyhihi b2b Dj Luser
dubbie b2b Dj Kinky T

Location:
Beursstraat 1

Tan de Repente (Suddenly) (2002) | Pride Month | Wednesday, June 24th

In Diego Lerman's Tan de Repente (Engelse titel: Suddenly) wordt de liefdeloze winkel medewerkster Marcia ontvoerd in een taxi door een punk lesbisch stel. Ze wordt meegenomen naar zee, en vervolgens naar een familiekennis van een van haar ontvoerders. Terwijl Marcia gedurende deze tocht wat opsteekt over haar eigen seksualiteit, heeft hun samenzijn (Marcia, het stel, en familiekennis Blanca) invloed op alle personages.

Tan de Repente (Suddenly) maakt deel uit van ons Pride Month-programma. Vind tickets en andere voorstellingen tijdens Pride Month hier: https://kriterion.nl/filmprogrammas/pride-programme-2024

Pubquiz in Kriterion! 4th of July at 19:00 in our café.

Sign up through the link in our bio or scan the QR code! 🍻

After midnight | 964 Pinocchio (4K Restoration)

Pinocchio 964 is a memory-wiped s*x slave whose owners abandon him because he can't keep an er****on. Apart from his memory loss and inability to speak, the extent of his modifications remains unclear. As he roams the city, Himiko discovers him. She, too, has no memory, likely due to the same company that created Pinocchio. Unlike him, she functions perfectly and spends her time drawing city maps to help others like her. Himiko takes Pinocchio home and tries to teach him to speak. After a lot of effort, he finally has a breakthrough, becoming aware of his situation. Suddenly, his body undergoes an inexplicable metamorphosis, revealing that his modifications are far more complex and esoteric than mere memory loss. Himiko also begins to transform, though her changes are much more subtle.

Saturday 22th June | 00:15
Saturday 29th June | 00:15
Saturday 6th July | 23:05
Saturday 13th July | 00:15

Tickets & info via

Queendom | Pride Month | 23 juni om 19:15

Aangekleed in bijzondere samenstellingen van duct-tape, make-up en andere materialen, trekt de buitenaardse performancekunstenaar Gena door Moscow, in protest tegen de oorlog in Oekraine en geweld tegen de lhbtqi+ gemeenschap. De 21-jarige verricht met diens optredens, die een "manifestatie van [diens] onderbewustzijn" (The Collaborative) representeren, een moedige daad gezien diens opvallende verschijning levensgevaarlijk is an sich. Winnaar van NEXT:WAVE op CPH:Dox.

Check ons hele Pride Month programma, en koop tickets voor Queendom via: https://kriterion.nl/films/queendom

Hack the Planet (+ Q&A) | YardVibes x WaterBear x Kriterion | 22/6 at 14:45

A special collaboration between YardVibes, WaterBear and Kriterion! Read the organizers announcement below:

"Join us on Saturday June 22, World Rainforest Day, for the special screening of Hack the Planet in Kriterion Amsterdam, with an aftertalk by the director, Floris Tils, and the film's protagonists, Tim van Deursen and Thijs Suijten from Hack the Planet, a Dutch non-profit using technology for a better world. In this short documentary, Floris follows Tim and Thijs while developing a smart camera system to help protect Gabon's endangered rainforest and its forest elephants.

On World Rainforest Day, Hack the Planet will be simultaneously released on two streaming platforms, WaterBear and YardVibes. To celebrate the film’s online release, and to raise awareness and encourage action to protect rainforests, the film will now be screened one time on the big screen!

Technology is becoming a bigger part of nature protection. In Hack the Planet, we follow Tim van Deursen and Thijs Suijten from Dutch tech non-profit Hack the Planet, who developed a smart camera system to resolve the intense human-elephant conflicts in Gabon and to protect the country's endangered rainforest and its forest elephants. We see them as they work together with eco-guards, scientists, and politicians to roll out their system in the Gabonese rainforest. Will their high-tech solution be able to contribute to preserving the natural wonders of our world?"

Tickets and info via: https://kriterion.nl/films/hack-the-planet

Night on Earth (1991) | Screening on various dates during the months of June and July

During June and July, we will be screening Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch!

Five cities. Five cabs. New encounters in the night.

In "Night on Earth," we witness a series of brief encounters between taxi drivers and their nighttime passengers. Each segment takes place in a different part of the world, featuring the local language and actors from that country. From a casting director in L.A. who wants to turn a female taxi driver into a movie star to an elderly immigrant taxi driver in New York who neither speaks the language nor drives well.

See the for tickets and info