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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,...

For “Buladó” filmmaker Eché Janga,” the less dialogue, the better — and for this film, using less dialogue reflects the culture country it was filmed in, which is Curaçao.

“In my first feature film [“Helium”], there was also not so much dialogue,” Janga said during TheWrap’s Screening Series on Tuesday. “For me, communications between people is 90% non-verbal in real life. In film, it’s the most interesting medium to communicate — this language of human beings. The less dialogue for me, the stronger the image, and this is the reason why I always use not so much dialogue and I tell my story with images and looks of people and how they behave. It’s related to the culture of Curaçao — they don’t speak that much but when they say something, it’s heavy and meaningful.”

“Buladó,” Janga’s second movie, follows 11-year-old Kenza (Tiara Richards) who lives with her father...