Brigit Hillenius

10 Songs for Charity

Beaten and hardened by life in a Nigerian ghetto, Charity leaves for Europe to work as an illegal prostitute, in pursuit of her dream of becoming rich.

Living the Dance

In 1980, five dancers were dreaming of a career in the lime light. Marijke Jongbloed and her camera followed them for thirty years on their way to the top or the bottom. Who managed to make their dream come true and who didn't.

Het galgenven

Photographer Anna Smeets makes reportages all over the world. When her mother dies unexpectedly, she returns to her native Limburg village for the funeral. She decides to move into her mother's studio on the edge of the Galgenven and make pictures in the vein of her mother's paintings of the village and its inhabitants and the unique nature surrounding it. While Anna thus tries to regain her identity, it turns out that part of that nature will have to yield to project developers' plans. A fierce battle flares up between Anna and large landowner Hyacint de Beaumont. The village, where many people depend on him, is divided. When Anna finally seems to be all alone, she receives help from unexpected quarters. This has dramatic consequences.

Het galgenven

Photographer Anna Smeets makes reportages all over the world. When her mother dies unexpectedly, she returns to her native Limburg village for the funeral. She decides to move into her mother's studio on the edge of the Galgenven and make pictures in the vein of her mother's paintings of the village and its inhabitants and the unique nature surrounding it. While Anna thus tries to regain her identity, it turns out that part of that nature will have to yield to project developers' plans. A fierce battle flares up between Anna and large landowner Hyacint de Beaumont. The village, where many people depend on him, is divided. When Anna finally seems to be all alone, she receives help from unexpected quarters. This has dramatic consequences.

Bolletjes Blues

Spike, an aspiring rapper, gets sucked into a criminal environment and ends up in jail for smuggling drugs.

Bolletjes Blues

Spike, an aspiring rapper, gets sucked into a criminal environment and ends up in jail for smuggling drugs.

Bolletjes Blues

Spike, an aspiring rapper, gets sucked into a criminal environment and ends up in jail for smuggling drugs.

Deacon of Death

The atrocities Sok Chea witnessed as a child during the rule of Pol Pot continue to haunt to this day, nearly thirty years later. So she is shocked when she suddenly comes across the man who was in charge of her prison and whom she holds responsible for murdering most of her family. Once again he holds a prominent position, this time as Deacon of Death or leader of cremation ceremonies. She decides to collect evidence against him. He must stand trial. But can she succeed in a country still ruled by fear. Besides which, Cambodians believe in karma and forgiveness. Wrongdoers are punished after their death anyway and will suffer for many lives to come. Sok Chea'ss quest leads her to a confrontation with Karoby, in the same pagoda where the atrocities occurred.

Great!

One warm summer night, in a working-class area of a big city, a group of teenagers sits on a square. Jill, a teen girl, undergoes her first sexual experience as an everyday banality.

Great!

One warm summer night, in a working-class area of a big city, a group of teenagers sits on a square. Jill, a teen girl, undergoes her first sexual experience as an everyday banality.

Rana's Wedding

A Palestinian girl of 17 who wants to get married to the man of her own choosing. Rana wakes up one morning to an ultimatum delivered by her father: she must either choose a husband from a preselected list of men, or she must leave Palestine for Egypt with her father by 4:00 that afternoon.

Nearer the Sea

A modest and loving portrait of a small enclave of old-fashioned beach huts by the North Sea. The sound track is fragments of conversations with the inhabitants, who themselves are not seen on screen; the protagonists on screen are the huts, the beach and the sea. And, only a stone’s throw away, the heavy industry of the Hoogovens furnaces.

Déjà Vu

Award-winning short thesis film by Jorge Hoogland. Premise unknown.

Buena Vista Social Club

In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.