8 Young Dutch Directors Worth Getting Excited About
Quentin van den Bossche
"I was born in France but grew up in The Hague in the Netherlands. I pursued my passion for stories and filmmaking by competing in student film competitions whilst attending the International School of the Hague. I then moved to England to study in Bournemouth on the Film Production course, and graduated in 2010 before working for two years in special effects production on feature films in London at Double Negative.
In 2013 I successfully entered Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam's creative incubator ‘The Kennedys’ as a filmmaker, working for seven months on our local clients and agency projects. I continued on as a freelancer afterwards where I worked as a director and editor on Heineken's Legendary Posters; a campaign rewarded with five Lions at Cannes 2014. I followed this up by directing the launch and brand film for Child Helpline International's ‘Free Our Voices’ campaign with W+K, before directing the digital media content for Netflix's Big Questions campaign with AKQA. I've now joined up with L-A-D-A in Amsterdam, a young director's program which feeds into Caviar, where I hope to continue to work for advertising but also expand onto other creative opportunities!"
Vincent Lammers – The Ambassadors, Design and Animation Director
Vincent is the young gun of the Ambassadors team. He started out as a VFX intern in 2009 where they quickly noticed his passion for the craft. He rarely left the studio so he could work on personal projects like his well known Five Second Stories, or his (very) short, award winning film C’est La Vie (International Bang Award 2010, Open Theme).
After graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Design, he left to sharpen his skills in Los Angeles at Buck. He then returned to Amsterdam and The Ambassadors in 2012, and is fast gaining a reputation for quirky, colourful animation. He is proud to have developed Dutch dessert brand Mona’s new Claymation TV campaign. Not only is it one of the very few new original character-led animated commercials series being created today; it also represents one of the first TV commercials that The Ambassadors has produced in its entirety.
Basha de Bruijn
Born in 1990 (yes, we feel old too), Basha has steadily built up a reel of photographic and effortlessly cool films. Last year she lensed The Flower Effect, a spot that soon became a floral favourite among the LBB editorial team but she’s equally at ease with gritty urban landscapes (as seen in her Rotterdam short) and stylised sports ads. Basha is self-taught and started her career as a videographer for Dutch magazine Linda; she’s now represented by We Film.
Mea Dols de Jong
Mea’s graduation film ‘If Mama Ain’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy’ is the very definition of directorial bravery. Who else would put their mother in front of the camera, quiz her about her relationships with men then dig out her mum’s ex-boyfriends too? This honest and intimate documentary about female singledom has been selected for inclusion in the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and has won Mea coverage in the likes of Vice. Mea currently works for the Dutch newspaper NRC but we wouldn’t be surprised if her frank style and ability to get people to open up see her snapped up for commercials and content.
Noël Loozen
This January, artist and filmmaker Noël Loozen spent 24 hours – 24 very long hours – listening to people complain. If that seems like a masochistically conceptual way to go about filmmaking it’s not surprising – Noël’s artistic background and surreal wit is threaded through his reel (case in point, his deliciously bizarre spot for Dutch snack brand FEBO). Noel originally studied photography and fine art before going on to complete a filmmaking MA at the Dutch Film and Television Academy in 2014. These days he’s represented by 100% Halal.
Rudiger Kaltenhauser
If detail is what you’re after, Rudiger Kaltenhauser is your dude. Ever since making the leap from VFX to directing with his G-Star RAW film, he’s developed a unique, abstract sensibility that turns even the most functional of products into a work of art. As well as leading 3D for Glassworks, Rudiger is also a director through the company’s creative production studio Ground Control.
Camille Herren
OK, so Camille Herren isn’t strictly Dutch. In fact he’s Swiss, but the filmmaker has made Amsterdam his home and the city, in turn, has provided him with some amazing opportunities to hone his craft. He’s won a Silver at the Young Director Award for his traumatic Amnesty International film ‘Hooded’ and, whilst taking part in Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam’s ‘The Kennedy’s’ scheme he headed out to Iceland to shoot a movie screening at the edge of a volcano.
Daniel Hope
This Amsterdam-based director, like Rudiger, also works with Glassworks. He caught our eye this Christmas with his shrewdly amusing animated Christmas card for the Dutch post house. We also loved his X-Pollination ‘Jungle’ shorts last summer.
