A decade of undocumented cleaning work in the Netherlands is now the spine of an IDFA-bound sales title. Paris-based documentary outfit Cat&Docs has boarded international sales for “We Had a Plan” ahead of its world premiere in the Luminous strand at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, which runs Nov. 12–22.
The film and the deal
Directed by Suzanne Raes and co-directed by Venice De Castro Atienza, the documentary follows Paul and Daniel, a gay Filipino couple who spent 10 years cleaning without papers in the Netherlands before returning to the Philippines. At home, relatives read their years abroad as wealth. Savings thin out, and the limits on their life as a queer couple tighten the story’s dramatic frame.
The film is also in the running for IDFA’s Best Dutch Film Award. Ilja Roomans produced for Docmakers, with Alemberg Ang co-producing for Daluyong Studios. De Castro Atienza executive produced through Svemirko Film Productions. Cinema Delicatessen will handle distribution in the Netherlands.
Why an early sales pickup matters
For documentary producers, a sales agent joining before the first public screening is a market event, not just paperwork. It shortens the gap between festival debut and territory sales, and gives buyers a pre-vetted title before the Luminous audience weighs in. Cat&Docs president and CEO Catherine Le Clef said the company was drawn to the warmth of the film and its lead subjects, and to the intimacy, tenderness and social relevance of the story. Director Suzanne Raes describes the film as an attempt to show the sacrifices migrant workers make while “humanizing an often invisible workforce.” That phrase doubles as an acquisition brief for broadcasters and platforms looking for issue-led, character-first non-fiction.
Raes calls the film a bittersweet love story tested by uneven wealth, social security and queer acceptance. De Castro Atienza, a Filipino filmmaker who has also left home, reads the couple’s choice as collective: leave to provide, or stay to share a life. Those two framings should travel well with European public broadcasters and global SVODs looking for festival-vetted, character-led documentary.
What buyers should watch
- IDFA Luminous screening and audience response: a proxy for word-of-mouth before territory sales.
- Territory announcements from Cat&Docs after the premiere window.
- Awards traction from the Best Dutch Film Award, which can extend the title’s life beyond the festival.
Raes’ earlier work includes “Close to Vermeer” and BAFTA Scotland-nominated “Where Dragons Live.” De Castro Atienza’s first feature, “Last Days at Sea,” debuted at the Berlinale before playing Visions du Réel, Hot Docs and IDFA. That track record reduces some risk for acquisition teams that cannot attend every festival screening.
For non-fiction buyers, the takeaway is to evaluate this title on festival heat and sales momentum, not opening-weekend box office. For producers, the pattern is worth copying: lock a festival slot, attach a sales agent before the premiere, and use the first screening as a buyer showcase.
Source: Variety
