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The setting is a temple of global commerce, an Apple store in Amsterdam, its clean lines and glass walls suggesting a world of seamless connectivity. Into this space walks Ilian, a Bulgarian visitor on a simple mission to replace his lost AirPods. His mundane errand becomes the inciting incident for iHostage, a film that grounds its terror in the terrifyingly plausible.

A gunman named Ammar enters, fires shots that shatter the minimalist calm, and yanks Ilian into the center of an international crisis. With the Bulgarian as his human shield, Ammar issues his demands: a fortune in cryptocurrency and safe passage.

Outside, police forces scramble to contain the situation. Inside, other customers and employees are scattered, some hiding upstairs, others crammed into a supply closet, all nodes in a network of fear. The film immediately establishes a scenario rooted not in fantasy, but in the specific anxieties of our highly technological and public world.

A Netflix thriller based on a harrowing 2022 hostage crisis that played out at an Apple store in Amsterdam is currently the most watched film on the platform. The flick is called iHostage, it just landed on the streamer last week and it’s already dethroned the Clint Eastwood film American Sniper (which was number one earlier this week) to claim the top slot.

A vocal faction of critics and fans have lambasted the film as dull and called out the screenwriting as ineffective, but is it really? The case upon which this film is based is way stranger than fiction, so I hesitate to be too critical of the filmmakers knowing that.

Bobby Boermans helmed the picture. He also takes a ‘created by’ credit alongside Simon de Waal; de Waal takes the sole screenwriting credit. Boermans has previously directed some Dutch television and a handful of features, but iHostage is...

A man storms into an Apple Store, gun in hand, and fires shots. As he takes customers and employees hostage, the armed man demands a breathtaking amount of money — all in cryptocurrency — before he’ll let anyone go. iHostage, inspired by the 2022 hostage crisis at an Amsterdam Apple Store, follows the attacker and those he’s holding for ransom. Directed by Bobby Boermans and written by Simon de Waal (The Golden Hour), the film stars Soufiane Moussouli, Loes Haverkort, and Marcel Hensema.

Stream it now.

Check it out at the top of this page.

When an armed man, Dutch national Ammar Ajar (Moussouli), enters an Amsterdam Apple Store, he demands a ransom of more than $200 million — and safe passage out of the city. He then takes Ilian Petrov (Šehović), a Bulgarian visitor, as his main hostage. Soon, chief negotiator Lynn (Haverkort) steps in, buying time for a...

Netflix’s iHostage is a tense Dutch thriller that dramatizes the real-life 2022 hostage situation at an Apple Store in Amsterdam. Directed by Bobby Boermans and written by Simon de Waal, the film offers a mosaic-style narrative, presenting the crisis through multiple perspectives, including the perpetrator, hostages, and emergency responders. Premiered globally on April 18, 2025, iHostage delves into the psychological and emotional facets of a city held in suspense. This article provides a comprehensive details about Netflix’s iHostage cast and characters.

Plot Overview

Inspired by the actual events of February 2022, iHostage centers on Ilian, a Bulgarian man who becomes an unwitting hostage when a gunman named Ammar seizes control of an Apple Store in Amsterdam’s Leidseplein district. As the situation unfolds, the film explores the intricate dynamics between the captor, the hostages, and the police negotiators striving to resolve the standoff peacefully. The narrative sheds light on the motivations, fears,...

You see, there’s a reason why Netflix’s iHostage claims that it’s inspired by a true story and not based on one. Director Bobby Boermans and writer Simon de Waal have made a few noticeable changes to the true story, mostly to protect the privacy of the hostages and the authorities involved in the hostage situation. The Bulgarian man who was held hostage at gunpoint by the armed hostage-taker, Abdel Rahman Akkad, pleaded with the local channels and newspaper to remove his name from their reports so he could go back to his normal life and try his best to forget the horrors he was put through on February 22, 2022. As far as the Dsi officers and police negotiators are concerned, their names have been altered as well, though many of these officials have given numerous interviews to various media outlets after the incident, sharing how they contained the...

There is this misconception that a documentary (or docuseries) based on a true story is supposed to just convey information, while a feature film (or a TV series) based on a true story is supposed to not just convey information but also move us emotionally. But if you have watched enough documentaries, docuseries, feature films, and shows, you know that it’s not as simple as that. Facts and interviews can be presented in a way that compels you to think about the subject in a certain manner even though you don’t know if you are getting the full picture. Meanwhile, fictionalized recreations can focus solely on data and statistics, without having the need to dabble in melodrama, and still be effective. That said, regardless of the genre one chooses to tell a true story, the thing that matters the most is the intent behind it. What is the...

Two is better than one.

Amsterdam-based Skoop Media has closed a deal with Walter Presents on “Evilside” and “Sleepers” for the U.K., Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The platform will have exclusive VOD rights in these territories.

“We can’t wait for our viewers to delve into these two phenomenal series,” enthused Walter Presents CEO Walter Iuzzolino.

“These titles are rich with suspense and filled with evocative worldly themes. Our foreign-language drama lovers should prepare for an exhilarating journey across Europe.”

Finnish offering “Evilside” – an Elisa Viihde original combining Live Action Role Play (Larp) with the legacy of Nordic Noir – kicks off with a brutal murder of a teenage boy in a small fishing village.

God-fearing local residents are quick to point fingers at outcast Johanna (Olivia Ainali) and she needs to prove her innocence. Luckily, detective Ulla Penttinen (Amira Khalifa) doesn’t need much convincing.

“There...

Mediawan Rights, the commercial branch of the pan-European production-distribution group Mediawan, has boarded international sales to “Golden Hour,” a thriller set in the aftermath of a terror attack in Amsterdam. The six-part series was written by Simon de Waal (“Lek”) and directed by Bobby Boermans (“Mocro Maffia”).

The show unfolds during the crucial hour that follows a terrorist attack in Hollande and follows Mardik, a tough but sympathetic Dutch detective of Afghan descent. One evening, Mardik receives a disturbing text message revealing that his childhood friend Faysal has come to the Netherlands. When a terrorist attack is carried out the next day, Mardik immediately suspects Faysal and goes to investigate, with drastic consequences.

“It’s not an ordinary crime series, it’s very character-driven and shows the ramifications of a terrorist attack with the perspectives of the victims and all the people impacted,” said Randall Broman, head of international distribution of scripted at Mediawan Rights.

Disney Plus has unveiled its first Dutch original scripted drama series, titled “Nemesis.”

The 8-part series will be produced by Netherlands-based production company Pupkin.

Described as a “thrilling crime drama,” the show is based on a novel written by Simon de Waal. Showrunners will be Willem Bosch and Pieter Kuijpers.

“Nemesis” tells the story of a woman fighting for justice in public prosecutor Sylvia van Maele, who sets out to hunt down a group of international criminals after a witness is murdered in van Maele’s own home.

“We are incredibly proud to announce the first Dutch drama series for Disney Plus,” said Mascha van Erven, director of local original productions at Disney Plus Benelux. “‘Nemesis’ is a thrilling crime series about the influence of the crime scene on our society and a wayward woman in the Public Prosecution Service who goes to war in an unorthodox way. The best...

Disney+ has greenlit its debut Dutch scripted original, an adaptation of Simon de Waal’s Nemesis.

Afterlife writer Willem Bosch and Van God Los’ Pieter Kuijpers will showrun the eight-parter which comes as Disney deepens its ties with European territories as it targets 60 international originals by 2024. The streamer has already commissioned multiple shows in the UK, Spain, France and Germany.

Police thriller Nemesis from Dutch indie Pupkin follows Public Prosecutor Sylvia van Maele who, after a brutal murder of a key witness in her own house, decides to take matters into her own hands. With an underground team of detectives, she opens the hunt for a group of international criminals who until then have remained out of reach of the law.

“The best storytellers within the Netherlands will tell the story,” said Mascha van Erven, Director, Local Original Productions, Disney+ Benelux.

Bosch said Pupkin is “taking a major new step in realizing its ambitions,...