It is never too early to start the end-of-year celebrations and gift giving, especially if you are Dutch. The people of the Netherlands in fact celebrate Saint Nicholas, the ancestor of Santa Claus, on the evening of December 5, a whole 20 days before Christmas. Though films featuring Santa Claus are too numerous to mention, films featuring Saint Nicholas are very few indeed: the first boxoffice success featuring the gift-giving saint came out only two years ago, when then first-time director Mischa Kamp premiered the children's film Het paard van Sinterklaas (Winky's Horse). This year, the Dutch get not one but two Saint Nicholas films: the kids can cue up for Waar is het paard van Sinterklaas (Where is Winky's Horse?), a sequel to Kamp's earlier film and adults can look forward to the romantic comedy Alles is liefde, which literally translates as Everything is Love (a syrupy title if ever there was one). The latter film looks like a Dutch version of Love Actually but is set during the Saint Nicholas rather than the Christmas celebrations. The many intersecting stories are populated with some of the biggest names in Dutch entertainment, including Carice van Houten (yes, the gift-wrapped girl on the poster is the same as the sulphurous Jewish Nazi-seducer in Verhoeven's Zwartboek / Black Book), Wendy van Dijk, Chantal Janzen and Paul de Leeuw and Daan Schuurmans as a couple preparing for marriage. The film was directed by Joram Lürsen (In Oranje / In Orange) and will be released on October 11. (Alles is liefde trailer)