Jenneke Boeijink, film

 

Jenneke Boeijink graduated in 2003 as a rehabilitation and neuropsychologist from the Catholic University in Nijmegen. While a psychology student, she was a volunteer at Radboud Kindertelevisie and followed courses in philosophy, film and television science.

While studying at the film academy, she wrote and directed various short fictional films, among which Zo terug [Right back], a free interpretation of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. In addition, she wrote and directed, among other works, the films Iris and De Hospita [The Landlady], which both give a large role to imagination. She interned as a directing assistant with David Lammers, with whom she worked on the film Langer Licht [Longer Light]. As part of mulitdiscipline research into the possibility of filming Claude Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande, she made a video installation under the guidance of opera director Pierre Audi. In the summer of 2006, she traveled with mime artist Ton Heijligers to Rome to challenge the pope’s stance on homosexuality, resulting in the short documentary Dear Pope.

In June 2007 Boeijink completed her studies at the academy with Schemeren [In Twilight], written and directed by her. This collage-like tale of people trying to give form to their lives in contemporary Western society is distinguished by its unique visual style, which, through its alienating quality, helps the viewer penetrate to the deeper, existential theme. The film was co-produced by the AVRO broadcast company and has been selected for various festivals, including the Netherlands Film Festival, the Brabant Film Festival, Noveau cinema in Paris, Festival Internacional de Curtas-Metragens in São Paulo. In September 2008, Schemeren won the Special Jury Award for the best short film at the I’ve Seen Films – International Short Film Festival in Milan. It was also nominated for Best Debut.

After graduating, she made the short documentary Aviva, produced by IDTV Docs and AVRO, about life in the online computer game Second Life. In addition, she is involved, with eight other young directors, in Love Me Baby, a film project being developed by Ijswater Films.

Boeijink is currently developing various scenarios for fiction and documentary projects.

Foto © Gregg Telussa