A man storms into an Apple Store, gun in hand, and fires shots. As he takes customers and employees hostage, the armed man demands a breathtaking amount of money — all in cryptocurrency — before he’ll let anyone go. iHostage, inspired by the 2022 hostage crisis at an Amsterdam Apple Store, follows the attacker and those he’s holding for ransom. Directed by Bobby Boermans and written by Simon de Waal (The Golden Hour), the film stars Soufiane Moussouli, Loes Haverkort, and Marcel Hensema.

When will iHostage be released?

Stream it now.

Where can I find the trailer for iHostage?

Check it out at the top of this page. 

Who’s in the cast of iHostage?

• Soufiane Moussouli as Ammar Ajar
• Admir Šehović as Ilian Petrov
• Loes Haverkort as Lynn, a police negotiator
• Marcel Hensema as Kees van Zanten, general commander of Amsterdam’s Police Department
• Emmanuel Ohene Boafo as Mingus, an Apple Store employee
• Matteo van der Grijn as Abe, leader of the Special Intervention Service (DSI) team
• Eric Corton as Mark, a police officer
• Roosmarijn van der Hoek as Bente, a teen customer
• Fockeline Ouwerkerk as Soof, Bente’s mother
• Robin Boissevain as Lucas, an Apple Store customer
• Louis Talpe as Winston, a member of the DSI team
• Jolanda van den Berg as Elin, a police chief
• Ahlaam Teghadouini as Jihane, a police officer
• Thijs Boermans as Matthijs, a police officer

What happens in iHostage?

When an armed man, Dutch national Ammar Ajar (Moussouli), enters an Amsterdam Apple Store, he demands a ransom of more than $200 million — and safe passage out of the city. He then takes Ilian Petrov (Šehović), a Bulgarian visitor, as his main hostage. Soon, chief negotiator Lynn (Haverkort) steps in, buying time for a police rescue mission by attempting to make a personal connection with Ammar. As Apple Store employee Mingus (Ohene Boafo) hides as many customers as he can, General Commander Kees van Zanten (Hensema) is on a desperate mission to get everyone out safe.

Director Boermans tells Netflix that he and his writer, de Waal, “both wondered what had really happened inside the store,” director Boermans tells Netflix. “And because Simon also works as a detective with the police in Amsterdam, he had access to a lot of people and information. We started investigating, and that’s when we discovered … how the police had maintained contact with the people hiding in the closet, how Apple got involved when the lights were about to automatically turn off, what impact the events had on the police officers, and so on.”

Is iHostage based on a true story?

Yes, the film is inspired by a real incident that took place in February 2022, in which a 27-year-old man took a Bulgarian citizen hostage at an Amsterdam Apple Store to demand a hefty ransom in crypto. While most customers were able to flee from the store after the assailant started shooting, four others were stuck there for hours, where they hid in a supply closet.

“Fortunately, hostage situations like this are scarce in the Netherlands. That’s what made this incident bizarre,” Boermans told TIME. “A man, demanding 200 million in cryptocurrency, chose to take a hostage in broad daylight on one of the busiest squares in Amsterdam.”

The film’s co-creator, de Waal, works as a detective near where the incident occurred, and was able to interview sources who were close to the case. “I was able to speak with people from the police force who were directly involved,” de Waal tells Netflix. “I wanted to know if they agreed with how things were portrayed, how events actually unfolded, how things were said … I wanted to stay as close to the truth as possible.” 

Where does iHostage take place?

The film takes place at an Apple Store in Amsterdam’s Leiden Square, aka Leidseplein. 

Where can I learn more about iHostage? 

To find out more about the making of the film, check out the behind-the-scenes featurette below. 

Go Behind the Scenes of iHostage