I’m a hungry filmmaker from the Netherlands, and I’ve been making films since graduating from film school in 2012.

My short films and features have premiered at a variety of festivals around the world, including Sundance, Berlin, and Tribeca. While I’m grateful for the recognition, I also have mixed feelings about the power these institutions hold within the film world. So yes, I’m mentioning them — but with mixed feelings.

Interestingly, my latest and most commercially successful film had no festival premiere at all. It was a refreshing experience: a film that connected directly with an audience, without needing institutional validation first.

Alongside writing and directing narrative films, I create commercials and music videos. I love moving between these worlds, constantly switching between two very different disciplines that challenge and inspire me in completely different ways.