Documentary film of the Netherlands has long been renowned worldwide. The most prominent Dutch directors, especially those who started their careers before World War II, came from a documentary background, for instance Joris Ivens and Bert Haanstra. In the late 1950s the Dutch film industry professionalized. The Nederlands Filmfonds (Netherlands Film Fund) was established in 1957, the Nederlandse Filmacademie (Netherlands Film Academy) in 1958. Headed by Haanstra, who won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject with 1959's Glass and also won prizes in Berlin and Cannes, the movement also included Herman van der Horst, who won a Golden Bear for Best Documentary and John Fernhout, whose Sky Over Holland won a Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival Documentaries still play an important part in Dutch film industry.
Famous documentary directors pre- and postdating the unofficial Documentary School include Joris Ivens, Johan van der Keuken and Jos de Putter. Ivens won a César Award and a Golden Lion, as well as a career achievement award at the Venice Film Festival.