The East (TV-MA)

The "Federatie Indische Nederlanders (FIN)" or Federation of Dutch Indonesians filed a lawsuit against the movie. FIN claims the movie is a fictional and overly evil depiction of the Dutch intervention in Indonesia, which was meant to put an end to waves of terror coming from local militia. Dutch veteran organizations were also dismayed by the depiction of Dutch soldiers spouting racial slurs and frequenting prostitutes, Special Forces wearing black "Nazi-like" uniforms (dark green in reality), and Raymond Westerling (Marwan Kenzari) sporting a "Hitleresque" mustache. The FIN asked for a disclaimer at the start of the movie, stating the film is fictional. The producer of the movie did not agree with adding such a statement (apart from the standard disclaimer at the end that parts of the story had been fictionalized for dramatic purposes), and the Dutch court finally decided an additional disclaimer was not necessary. Director Jim Taihuttu defended himself against the allegations, stating that the behavior and language of the soldiers was based on diaries given to him by an actual soldier in the war. He had also showed the movie to several Dutch veterans and army leaders, who all praised the film for its authenticity.

The Dutch production shot for 2.5 months on location in Indonesia. The shoot was plagued by many complications: heavy rainfall caused river floods that washed away parts of the set; locations that were guaranteed to be safe were teeming with crocodiles; cast and crew got sick with typhus, food poisoning and sun strokes, and the director's assistant (the director's sister) was bitten by a scorpion. Calls to prayer coming from nearby mosques also caused constant disruptions, so most of the sounds and dialogues had to be redone in post-production.

Several setbacks and the Indonesian bureaucracy caused many delays and financial issues. Filming was set to begin in 2019, but 150 visa for Dutch extras were not extended at the eleventh hour because the government felt that Indonesian ex-pats could be used instead. The shoot had to be rescheduled, contracts for locations renegotiated, and some of the actors recast (although some were so determined to participate that the traveled to and from the set three times). The 2020 Corona crisis caused additional delays. To collect additional budget for the project, fundraisers were held and director Jim Taihuttu, also a DJ working under the name "Jim Aasgier", gave extra performances. In the end, the producer made a deal with Amazon Prime to secure the necessary budget (a total of EUR 7.2 million or $8.8 million) to finish the film.

The scene in the East-Indian villa was not filmed on location in Indonesia, but at castle Sandenburg near Utrecht, the Netherlands, which was dressed to look Indonesian for the occasion. Even though the scene is supposed to be set during a hot summer evening, the shoot was done in very cold circumstances and was nearly disrupted by rain. The jungle confrontation near the end of the filmed was shot in a nearby forest, which was adorned with palm and banana trees.

Director Jim Taihuttu worked on the movie since 2013 because his great-grandfather had fought and died as a sergeant in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army during the Indonesian Independence War. Taihuttu, who moved to Indonesia for the movie, felt that this controversial chapter in history had never been properly taught in schools nor depicted on film, even though it had been the reason that his family had moved to the Netherlands,