A Dictionary of Dutchness

Gouden Kalf

The Gouden Kalf (Golden Calf) is Holland’s top film award. The winners are announced at the closing gala of the Netherlands Film Festival. The name is attributed by some to film-maker Wim Verstappen.‘You have bears in Berlin, lions in Venice and squirrels God knows where. So what is more logical than a calf in Utrecht?’ he is quoted as saying. The award, a 33cm bronze statue of a calf, was designed by the Utrecht artist Theo Mackaay.