What does it take to bring a project to life across different regions, expectations, and creative ambitions? In this panel, three producers come together for a candid conversation about the conditions that shape their work and the choices they face along the way.
The discussion moves between the practical and the imaginative: how do producers recognize when a project’s foundations are solid, what draws them to stories that fall outside standard frameworks, and where is genuine room for unconventional forms?
Collaboration – especially through co-production – emerges as a recurring theme, offering insight into how roles are negotiated and how a project evolves once more partners come on board. Throughout, the panel also turns the lens back to filmmakers: what do they often underestimate about the producer’s process, and what can producers themselves better acknowledge in the filmmaker’s journey.
After the moderated conversation, the audience is invited to join the discussion.
The session will be held in Dutch. Organized in collaboration with Oostpact
Speakers:
Moderator: Kim van de Werff
About the speakers:
Charlotte Driessen
After working as a freelancer for seven years, Charlotte Driessen founded her film production company Harpy Films in 2021. Her recent work includes the short international youth documentary Double Holiday, which is being screened at various international festivals and is also available on NPO Start. In April, the short international costume drama Fanny in Busan will have its world premiere, and later this year the feature film Hamartia will be released. In addition, several projects are currently in development
Ivo Siebum (1995) has been working as a producer at Millstreet since 2022. In 2021, he won the NAPA Award at the Netherlands Film Festival. At Millstreet Films, he supports emerging filmmakers in developing and producing feature films, short films, and documentaries, with a strong focus on long-term collaborations with talented filmmakers to tell innovative stories together.
Nicky Onstenk has been working as a producer at IJswater Films in Amsterdam since 2019. She graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy and has since produced award-winning short films and documentaries, including Spotless (winner of the Berlinale Crystal Bear, 2022), Magma (Berlinale Generation, 2023), Dunya (2021) and Luc (2022). In 2024, the Telefilm Pariah premiered internationally at the Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival, and the preschool series Little Goat Squad was recently broadcast on NPO Zapp. Several film projects are currently in (post-)production and development.
Free access with an Industry/Student Accreditation, no prior registration required