Still: A Family - Mees Peijnenburg

In the Generator +15 section, Dutch director Mees Peijnenburg presents A Family, a feature exploring the fragile bonds within a family under strain. Produced by Juliet at Pupkin, the film world premiered at the Berlinale and will have its Giffoni screening as part of a section dedicated to the complex journey from adolescence to adulthood, where questions of responsibility, emotional dependency and independence come to the fore. Lead actress Celeste Holsheimer is expected to attend the festival.

Younger audiences are addressed in the Elements sections, where Dutch storytelling is present in both feature and short form. In Elements +10, King of the Wanderers by Janne Schmidt follows the emotional journey of a daughter and her father, who is living with schizophrenia. The film is produced by The Media Brothers, and both director Janne Schmidt and screenwriter Eveline Hagenbeek will attend Giffoni.

In Elements +6, the Dutch graduation short film The Little Hotel Detective by Julia van Braak brings a playful yet curious perspective on discovery and imagination, aligning with the section’s focus on early childhood exploration and wonder. It is produced by The Netherlands Film Academy. Van Braak will also be attending the festival.

Also selected in the Generator +15 section is Skiff by Cecilia Verheyden, a Dutch-Belgian co-production, co-produced by Lemming Film, that follows two teenagers whose relationship is tested by emotional vulnerability and the pressures of their environment.

The exploration of adolescence from different cultural and social perspectives continues in the Generator +13 section, where Everyone's Sorry Nowadays by Frederike Migom and co-produced by Juliet at Pupkin is selected. Based on the novel by Bart Moeyaert, the film is a tender, imaginative tale about dreams and carving out a space for yourself in life.