HOLLAND, MI – Locals flocked to downtown Holland Monday night for a sneak peek at a mystery thriller filmed in the town’s iconic tulip fields.

‘Holland,’ directed by Mimi Cave, was mostly filmed in Tennessee, but some scenes were filmed in and around the authentic Dutch windmill at the city’s historic Windmill Island.

Over 500 people attended the sold-out screening of the new film at Knickerbocker Theatre, 86 E Eighth St., on Monday, March 24.

‘Holland’ director to host free hometown screening for Michigan-set thriller film

“It was a lot of research missions with Mimi coming to Holland in the beginning to see families, homes — people who actually live here and are Dutch,” said JC Molina, production designer of the new film. “It was really important for us and my team to recreate these sets because we weren’t able to shoot it here and to give it that authenticity and respect that it really deserves.”

The one-hour and 48-minute movie follows Nancy Vandergroot, a seemingly ordinary teacher and homemaker played by Nicole Kidman, whose picture-perfect life in Holland during the early 2000s is turned upside down when she and her colleague (Gael García Bernal) become suspicious of a secret, only to discover that nothing in their lives is what it seems.

Mayor Nathan Bocks, who moderated a Q&A with Cave and Molina following the free screening, said the film will be great exposure for those who’ve never been to the area.

“What everybody needs to remember is it’s not a documentary, it’s not about the city of Holland, but it happens to take place here,” Bocks said. “One of the great things about Holland is it’s a community that has a personality. We’ve got a long, rich history, and I think that shines through in the movie.”

Despite being only partially filmed in Holland, the movie captures the city’s small-town charm by featuring events like Tulip Time, showcasing the local high school and incorporating scenes near the Holland Peanut Store and other long-standing local shops.

For Holland resident Kendal Southworth, the excitement lies in seeing how the filmmakers incorporated the beloved spots around town.

“The movie did a great job capturing Holland and some of its funny quirks, and I was very impressed,” Southworth said. “There was a line in there about, ‘This is Holland, not Allegan,’ which was hilarious. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of reaction. You could tell that it hit home for a lot of people, especially the people who were born and raised here.”

But some viewers, like Paul Kleinheksel, 84, weren’t so impressed with the film.

Kleinheksel walked into the theatre with high hopes of how Holland would be portrayed but left disappointed.

“It was interesting, for sure,” he said. “Looking at the credits, it was mostly filmed in Tennessee, which everyone knew. ‘Why Holland?’ They have a few scenes at the windmill, but nothing quite captured our town. They chose to use the name of our town and put it on a movie with big-name actors, but it was disappointing.”

“Holland” streams nationwide on Prime Video on March 27. It initially premiered at the March 7-15 SXSW (South by Southwest) Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas.

Cave told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press that the film captures the hospitality of upper midwestern suburbia while weaving in unexpected twists and turns.

“It’s a really entertaining storyline,” she said. “My hope is people can sit back and enjoy it — not think too much and really be enveloped in the world we’ve created.”

Mayor Bocks shared a similar sentiment. While the film is a murder mystery, Bocks assures viewers that such events are not a regular occurrence in Holland.

Bocks, a resident of Holland, encourages those who have seen the film to visit the city and experience its true character firsthand.

“The fact that I didn’t actually grow up here, I can see some of the quirkiness that those who’ve lived their entire lives here might not see,” he said. “That’s one of the things that makes it such an incredible place to live. I think people are going to find this is an absolutely fabulous place, the most wonderful place in the world.”

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Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz and former Big 12 player of the year Marcus Morris Sr. react to the Spartans 71-63 victory over the Lobos in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

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Video Transcript

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

Michigan State starts slow but ends up pulling away and they get a big win over New Mexico.

Marcus Morris Senior, I’m Jason Fitz.

Let’s break it down.

Michigan State wins 71 to 63, and Marcus, I feel like we’ve been talking about this for about a week.

It’s not any one player for Michigan State.

It’s the sum of the parts that continues to dominate and it makes them a tough out, particularly in the second half of games.

You said it correct.

The bench came and delivered 36 points from the bench.

Man, that’s a lot, bro.

I’m telling you, if they can get this production in the tournament, they have a real chance of going to the Final Four.

The bench almost had more than half the points in this game, man, if not all, if not half.

And, and I didn’t think coming into this tournament that they could survive a terrible night for Jase Richardson.

And that was tonight.

He couldn’t buy a bucket.

Even Izzo admitted that after the game.

I’m surprised to see JaceP so low on the overall box score and such a small part of the game and still see them find a way to pull away.

It just speaks to the fact that they have next man up mentality in the way that they built this entire roster.

Definitely they death is killer, man, you know.

We all know that Michigan State hang their hat on defense and we knew that it would be the point of time in this tournament where they couldn’t score, but they had a good senior guard play.

Jaden Aiken stepped up with a close game around 7 minutes and hit a big 3, and I felt like the lead just opened up for Michigan State.

Yeah, now they’re gonna get the 6 seed Ole Miss.

What do you think?

Ole Miss is playing really well.

Michigan State.

Surprisingly, man, they can win games without scoring the ball, it’s gonna be hard to beat this team.

Yeah, well, keep one thing in mind.

Michigan State is headed to the Sweet 16, and this is also a Sweet 16 for Izzo, as it is his 16th Sweet 16 appearance that is a level of dominance that we may never know again.

That is absolutely incredible by him.

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