Two years ago on the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, there were a lot of tourists enjoying the warmth of terrace heaters and people rushing home for dinner. Around 17:30 on the 22nd of February 2022, the hostage situation started in the Apple Store and made headlines all over the world. This ordeal is being turned into a Netflix film.
The film will be centred around the tense hostage situation in the store and will switch from the hostage taker and hostages points of view, as well as the first responders, Netflix said in a press release.
Filming is set to start soon and will be directed by Bobby Boermans. It will be written by Simon de Waal and will be launching on Netflix in 2025.
“The hostage situation at the Apple Store marks a unique event in the Netherlands and inspired me, along with screenwriter Simon de Waal, to collaborate once again. With the film, we aim to tell a genuine and compelling story, providing the audience with a realistic portrayal of the intense experiences of those involved during the five-hour hostage situation,” Boermans said.
Hostage situation
Amsterdam’s bustling Apple Store became the scene of a terrifying hostage situation on February 22nd, 2022. A lone gunman held a customer captive for five hours, firing shots and demanding ransom. The ordeal ended when the hostage managed to flee, with the gunman immediately taking chase. A police officer rammed his vehicle into the gunman who died later in hospital due to his injuries.
Dagblad van het Noorden’s Amsterdam correspondent Mascha de Jong-Kramer immediately cycled over when she noticed something was happening on the Leidseplein. “We had no idea yet what was going on, but when a BearCat (armoured vehicle) went past us, we knew it was really bad. That’s a war equipment!”
Separate Dutch documentary
Recently the Dutch documentary ‘The Hostage Situation at the Apple Store’, made by Roos Gerritsen, has also been released onDutch TV. This documentary contains the real footage of the hostage situation and has videos that were filmed by the hostage taker himself, on his bodycam.
Half a year after the tragedy Gerritsen went to the police to see if there was more video material of the hostage situation. That resulted in this new documentary.
You can follow the conversations between hostage taker Abdel A. and the police from minute to minute. While he holds a hostage, a Bulgarian tourist, he screams at them “his death is on your conscience.” In the conversations with the hostage mediator, a view of a sad life unfolds in which caregivers and debt creditors play a big role.
The documentary ‘The hostage situation at the Apple Store’ is available from the 22nd of February on AT5 at 20:00 on Dutch TV or Videoland (in Dutch). The unrelated Netflix film will be available on Netflix in 2025.
