The last day of the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht saw a sneak preview of Hufters en hofdames (Bastards and Bridesmaids). Today, Terstall's film really is finished and has been transferred to 35mm. And his film fits nicely in the line of small-scale, personal Dutch films such as Little Sister and Blind Date, that were largely produced without grants from the major funds.

Unlike De Zeemeerman (The Smelly Merman) , these films also appeal to audiences.

Bastards and Bridesmaids was shot in two weeks and the budget of HFl 5,000 was begged and borrowed from individuals and sponsors. The actors, among them, Daan Ekkel and Marc van Uchelen, are drinking mates.

Bastards and Bridesmaids is a culture and morality sketch set in Amsterdam at the end of the 20th Century. A city with many faces: growing grass at home, sitting at street cafes, the creative chic of the inner suburbs.

The Bridesmaid is Dimitri, a 25-year old lover of astronomy and blind chess. He still lives with his parents, good-willed and stable people. He much regrets only having a platonic relationship with his girlfriend Esther.

On the advice of friends, Dimitri decides to behave more as a bastard, because that will make him more popular with the ladies.

The bastard is Gino, a he-man type who has no problem luring girls into his bed. But what he's really after is security. His loose' girlfriend Susan doesn't want to live with him because she think's he's too heavy.

For the first time Terstall has been able to control the final cut of his film, of vital importance to him after clashes with the producers of his previous films Transit and Walhalla.

"This film has been made with one-fortieth of the budget of my previous production and in a quarter of the time," Terstall told the Dutch press. "But it is much better than the one costing a million dollars. This was the best way for me to work. I wasn't responsible to anyone but myself." EVJ

Hufters en hofdames - Sunday 2-2, 7.45 PM, Pathe 4, Thursday 6-2, 10.15PM, Pathe 6, Saturday 8-2, 8 PM, COG