Film Talents to Cannes selection 2023 announced!
Five filmmakers and six films selected.
Film Talents to Cannes
CineSud spontaneously launched the Film Talents to Cannes program in 2018 to give filmmakers the chance to gain knowledge, experience and connections outside their own country's borders and on the world's biggest stages. The program caught on so well that it became a permanent part of CineSud's activities starting in 2019, which was quickly acknowledged nationally and internationally.
This year, a delegation of six new filmmakers travels to the Marché du Film for the first time to attend networking opportunities, workshops, coaching and one-on-one sessions. One extra participant was selected for several parts of the program.
Besides the talents that will join us to Cannes, we (re)present Dutch talents in the New Dutch Talent Short Film Corner collection. Six short films will be presented.
The program is sponsored by CineSud's main partners which are - amongst others - Province of Limburg, Municipalities of Heerlen, Maastricht and Sittard-Geleen, Elisabeth Strouven Fund and Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds. Additional support comes from the Netherlands Film Fund. For the 2023-edition we are happy to partner up with new partners Playgrounds (from the province of Noord-Brabant) and New Noardic Wave (Friesland-Drenthe-Groningen).
Selected Participants 2023
For the on-site networking- and training program Dutch Film Talents to Cannes Karel Konings (Vogelkooi, Bird Cage), Angelo Raaijmakers, Julian Verkerk (Jäger), Lau Zautsen and Sophie van de Pol (Uitchecktijd, Late Check-Out) are selected. Nathalie Roux, ShortsLab 2022 participant and director of Stripped Down, will be joining us at location as an extra participant for several parts of the program.
Selected Films 2023
For the collection short films by New Dutch Talent CineSud will (re)present the following titles during the Short Film Corner:
- Birdcage| Karel Konings
- Late Check-Out | Sophie van de Pol
- Jäger | Julian Verkerk
- Stripped Down | Nathalie Roux
- Goudhaan | Sem Dingemans
- Husom | Mandula van den Berg & Job van Aken
Sophie van de Pol graduated as a director from the Toneelacademie Maastricht. Since 2014 she has been working as a screenwriter and director. Not for theatre, for which she was officially trained, but for film. She has discovered the tragicomic genre and felt how great she finds it to find the balance between drama and humor.
Karel Konings comes from Belgian Limburg and he made his directorial debut with Charlie Z. In 2022, he made a short film called Jagers. The film screened at the Nederlands Film Festival 2022 and is now being distributed by Agence du Court Métrage. Later that year he also made Vogelkooi within the framework of CineSud ShortsLab, which is going into distribution as off now. After having had a taste of acting, directing and writing, Karel is determined to combine these crafts into making films that will fascinate their audiences for generations to come.
Julian Verkerk is a filmmaker from Groningen who graduated from the Minerva Art Academy in 2020. He works as a screenwriter, director and designer. Almost all his work is set in the same world called ‘Klethoven’, a surreal 1970s version of reality that he created and in which many of his stories unfold. His newest film Jäger won the Noordsterren award at the Film Festival Assen 2023. His work often consists of an enormous composition of various elements from the film and design history of Scandinavia, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium and England. As a result, his films are accessible to a wide European audience.
Lau, née Laurens Zautsen, is a visual artist, performing artist and filmmaker, based in Utrecht. Born in Limburg, Lau obtained a Bachelor's degree in Audiovisual Media from HKU and are currently pursuing a Master's degree in Lens-Based Media at the Piet Zwart Institute Rotterdam. Their graduation Feniks (2019) film won the 2019 Filmfonds Wildcard. Their newest film Release is currently undergoing post-production. Their work explores colourful worlds, people and emotions. This often comes with a touch of theatrics and a dash of humour but remains rooted in social realism.
Angelo Raaijmakers is a filmmaker who lives and works in Rotterdam. He makes genre-crossover films, in which he tries to make psychological issues and themes physical, by using elements of fantasy, thriller and body horror. He has an international ambition and would love to investigate and feel what his place in the world of genre-crossover filmmaking could be.
Nathalie Roux graduated at the Theatre Academy in Maastricht. With the CineSud ShortsLab production Stripped Down she made her debut as a director.
