In 1958, Dutch film experienced a golden year with international success, full houses and even an Oscar. This success came after a period of criticism of the quality of Dutch films, as evidenced by an open letter in 1957 in the magazine Filmforum, signed by critics including Janus van Domburg, Anton Koolhaas and Jan Blokker, who called the films "insultingly bad". Nevertheless, the situation improved quickly, partly due to better scripts and technical innovations such as the first Dutch colour film. Documentary filmmaker Bert Haanstra and critic Jan Blokker played an important role in this revival, with Haanstra moving to feature films and Blokker writing a script despite earlier criticism. Their collaboration and international guidance, including from Alexander MacKendrick, led to improved quality and successful films such as "Fanfare".

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