iHostage (2025)

iHostage (2025)111

iHostage (2025)

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Is iHostage a true story? What should you know about the Dutch thriller?

The film is based on the true story of a hostage crisis at an Apple Store.

Written by Ingrid Ostby

April 22, 2025

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A man walks into an Apple Store with a gun and opens fire. While holding customers and employees hostage, the gunman demands a large sum of money — all in cryptocurrency — before releasing anyone. Inspired by the 2022 hostage crisis at an Apple Store in Amsterdam, ihostage follows the attackers and those held for ransom. Directed by Bobby Bormans and written by Simon de Waal ( The Golden Hour ), the film stars Soufiane Mousouli, Lois Havercourt, and Marcel Hensema.

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When will iHostage be released?

Stream now.

Where can I find the trailer for iHostage?

Watch it at the top of this page.

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 Hostage negotiators sit in a control room in a still from 'iHostage.

Who is in the cast of iHostage?

 Soufiane Musuli as Ammar Azar

Admir Shehovich as Ilian Petrov

Los Havercourt as Lin, a police negotiator

Marcel Hensema as Kees van Janten, the general commander of the Amsterdam Police Department

Emmanuel Ohne Boafo as Mingus, an Apple Store employee

Matteo van der Griesen as Abe, the leader of the Special Intervention Service (DSI) team

Erik Korten as Mark, a police officer

Rusmarijn van der Hoek as Bente, a teenage customer

Folkelaine Auwerkerk as Sophie, Bente's mother

Robin Boisvain 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

Ahlam Tegaduini Jihane as a police officer

Police officer Mathijs as a police officer Thijs Boermans

Admir Sehovic as Ilian Petrov in 'iHostage'

What happens in iHostage?

When an armed man, Dutch citizen Ammar Ajar (Moussouli), enters an Apple Store in Amsterdam, he demands a ransom of more than $200 million — and a safe way out of the city. He then makes Bulgarian tourist Ilian Petrov (Sehovic) his main hostage. Soon, lead negotiator Lin (Havercourt) steps in, trying to establish personal contact with Ammar to buy time for the police rescue operation. While Apple Store employee Mingus (Ohne Boffo) hides as many customers as possible, General Commander Kees van Zanten (Hensema) embarks on a desperate mission to get everyone out safely.

 Director Boermans told Netflix that he and his writer, De Waal, “were both wondering what really happened inside the store,” director Boermans told 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 were keeping in touch with the people hiding in the cupboard, how Apple got involved when the lights were automatically turning off, what the impact of the events was on the police officers, etc.”

In one scene in the film ‘iHostage’, the hostages hide in a supply cupboard.

Is iHostage based on a true story?

Yes, the film is inspired by a real-life incident that took place in February 2022, in which a 27-year-old man took a Bulgarian citizen hostage at an Apple Store in Amsterdam and demanded a large ransom in crypto. While most customers were able to escape the store after the gunman opened fire, four others were trapped for hours, hiding in a supply room.

“Fortunately, hostage situations like this are rare in the Netherlands. That’s what makes this case so strange,” Boermans told TIME. “A man who demanded $200 million in cryptocurrency decided to take hostages in broad daylight in one of Amsterdam’s busiest squares.”

The film’s co-producer, de Waal, works as a detective near where the incident took place and was able to interview sources close to the case. “I was able to talk to people in the police force who were directly involved,” de Waal told Netflix. “I wanted to know how they were portraying things, how the events actually unfolded, whether they agreed with what was being said ... I wanted to stay as close to the truth as possible.”

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Where is iHostage?

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

Where can I learn more about iHostage ? 

For more on the making of the film, check out the behind-the-scenes featurette below. 

[tense instrumental music plays]

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