Shortcutz has started with the takeover sessions. We want to show you how a great team working, with all the people involved trying to excel themselves to make a project, can achieve great(er) things! The sooner you learn the magic of team leading and collaboration, the sooner you are on the right way to something remarkable. 

ZUIDAS  * TAKEOVER *
with AARON ROOKUS (director), NICOLE VAN KILSDONK (director), IDSE GROTENHUIS (producer), MENNO WESTENDORP (cinematographer), BOELIE VIS (editor and composer), BRAM SUIJKER (Actor), ROLINDE HOORNTJE (writer).

Nicole van Kilsdonk (director)

After finishing School for Journalism, Nicole van Kilsdonk went to the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam and graduated in 1991. After making a few documentaries she specialized in writing and directing fiction films. She made several tv-series (The Labyrint, Zuidas), short films (SALE!, Zoe), 4 single plays for tv (50 minutes), and 7 TV-films like, Dawnswimmers a much-awarded film musical, and Deining, awarded with a Golden Calf and recently Lost & Found. Van Kilsdonk also made a children’s series for tv totally shot in Suriname (Palemu’s Taxi).

She has made 8 feature films: Johan (2005) awarded with Grand Prize of the Worldfest Houston. The children feature How to Survive Myself (2008, Audience Award Filmfestival Giffoni).

The art-house film Heading West (2010) and Patatje Oorlog/Taking Chances (Berlinale 2012, Cinekid Award Best Feature Film, ECFA Award, GoldenTrophy India, Buff, Kristiansand, Giffoni and more), the drama film In the Heart (Dutch Belgian co-production, 2014) and the Dutch-Belgian light drama feature film Ventoux (2015).

The family movie The Day My Father Became a Bush (Dutch, Belgian, Croatian coproduction, ECFA Award etc), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2016. Her latest film Oude Liefde (Forbidden love) premiered October 2017 and was made with the same team as In the Heart.

Aaron Rookus (director)

Aaron graduated with honors in 2008 as a Bachelor of Design and as a European Master of Media and Arts (EMMA) at the Utrecht School of Arts and studied Film Theory at the University of Amsterdam. His graduation film I Wish I Could Share the Happiness of Being Alone with Someone Else won several awards including the HKU award for Best graduation project. 

In 2010 he was selected for the international programme Engage for feature film development and in 2012 he was selected as a talent at the Berlinale Talent Campus. He made several award-winning shorts such Wednesdays, P and A Good Life. The short film Wednesdays was awarded as Best Film and Aaron was awarded as Best Director at the first edition of Shortcutz Annual Awards. 

He continued to direct single plays like Icarus and Van God Los and is now working on his first feature film.

Idse Grotenhuis (producer)

Idse started his career in 1993 as a director/producer. As a showrunner, he produced drama series in several genres, from Grijpstra & De Gier (police drama), Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden (soap-opera) and De Erfenis (family drama). As from 2010 Idse started as a creative producer for high-end drama series, like The Prey (banking crisis drama) and According to Robert (black comedy), to join Topkapi Films in 2017 as producer of television drama series, with several high-end series in development (eg. Purgatoria, Childhood Dreams, The District, The Life, Urk, Flying Dutchmen). Television drama series ZUIDAS is currently running on Dutch television.

Menno Westendorp (director of photography)

Menno has worked in the film industry for over 20 years, shooting over 400 commercials for the world’s leading brands. He also shot 15 feature-length films and some shorter projects for TV. His work includes titles such as The Fault in Our Stars and Soof and as a director of photography Lost & Found, Alleen Maar Nette Mensen and Van God Los the drama series. In 2008 Menno Westendorp won a Golden Calf for Best Cinematography for his work on Het Echte Leven (The Real Life).

Boelie Vis (editor and composer)

Boelie is a drama-editor as well as a composer. Sometimes he combines both professions in one production. As an editor, he is best known for series as Baantjer, Vlucht HS13, Bloedverwanten and De 12 van Oldenheim. For the series Land van Lubbers and the now playing ZUIDAS, he provided the score as well as the edit.

Bram Suijker (actor)

Bram graduated at the Toneelacademie Maastricht in 2013. Bram starred in the drama series Van God Los, According to Robert and According to Jacqueline. In 2016 he portrayed the main role in the short film Ballen. This role got him the award for Best Actor at Shortcutz Festival and most recently he played in the telefilm Lost & Found. Bram had his internship at Mighty Society and performed at De Parade, the ITS Festival and the Fringe Festival. After graduating he became part of Het Nationale Theater and he performed in De Prooi, Het Stenen Bruidsbed, De Storm en Tasso. This season will be performing in Verzameld Werk van Shakespeare (ingekort), Lord of The Flies en De Oresteia.

ZO ZUIDAS - Rolinde Hoorntje (writer)

Zo Zuidas is a writers’ collective of three writers. Karima O’Flynn-Belgacem, Rolinde Hoorntje and Maria Guldenaar. They started their career on the Zuidas and wrote about the 4 square kilometers business playfield near the station of Amsterdam South. In nearly 9 years they wrote columns, articles, two books and the drama series ZUIDAS. Their widely read blog became a fixture in The Press. They later wrote columns for The Financial Times, Advocatie.nl, Glamour and Forbes. Their first book, Zo Zuidas appeared in 2010, in 2014 Project Dreamland (Prometheus) followed.

In our Official Selection, you can watch and meet the teams of:

STEP BY STEP ***** PREMIÈRE
Hugo van Essen | Documentary | 07:42  

Jeroen reveals the difficulties of his handicap. Not only is he challenged physically in everyday life; his handicap also affects his emotional and social life. Despite being nearly blind, Jeroen is determined to pick up his life again. He does this by leading a group of blind runners called Running Blind. Together they prepare to run a marathon.

#YOLO4REAL
Aiman Hassani | Live-Action | 09:45    

Ahmed, our protagonist, is 21 years old when he receives the news that he is terminally ill. After a stage of denial, Ahmed tries to escape this horrible truth. 
Not until he hits rock bottom does he understand he needs to make the most of the time he has left. He blossoms, and decides to enjoy the remainder of his life, in part by checking boxes on his bucket list. As death nears, Ahmed starts living. 
Finally, he can reach out and embrace life, just when life is getting ready to let go of him.