'character' Built With Dutch Nod

UTRECHT, the Netherlands -- Mike van Diem's "Character," a film about the conflicting natures of a father and son, rode its continuing wave of popularity to victory Friday at the Golden Calf awards, the Dutch equivalent to the Oscars.

The presentation of the prizes came at the conclusion of the 17th annual Dutch Film Festival. which supported the acclaim at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals for van Diem's directorial debut.

The Golden Calf for best direction went to Rudolf van den Berg for his work on "For My Baby," a film about a Viennese stand-up comedian who is confronted with his Jewish identity.

Belgian actor Jan Decleir, who starred in the Oscar-winning "Antonia's Line," did not win a Golden Calf for best actor for his role in "Character," but was awarded instead the Grolsch Film Prize ($25,000) for special merits and his contribution to Dutch cinema.

This was the first time that the festival gave the best actor award to a performer in a re-enacted documentary. Jaap van Donselaar won the honor for his role in "The Tears of Castro," which was a student graduation film about a confirmed Communist who goes to Cuba to look for Fidel Castro.

In an unusual twist, the best actress award went to five performers -- Marnie Blok, Maartje Nevejan, Leonoor Pauw, Adelheid Roosen and Lieneke le Roux --who play sisters spending the weekend in a country cottage in Mijke de Jong's "Brittle."

The jury said that the acting of the women was indivisible, leading it to present the honor to the five actresses as a collective award.