De Ontmoeting

A pursuit, footsteps, a house that runs off. The universal nightmare of many a refugee. This empathic documentary shows what it is like to be confronted in the dead of night with mortal fear, trauma and displacement.

Window cleaner Dennis falls from the 40th floor of a high rise. He is in luck: He gets stuck outside the 33th floor, hanging helplessly outside the window of Debbie, who is getting ready for a date. Because of the soundproof glass the conversation is awkward and difficult. The clumsy situations build and build in this bizarre comedy, filled with miscommunication.

In this debut film, shaped as an absurdist mockumentary, Yara’s obsession with the famous stage and movie actor Maarten Heijmans takes serious forms. She is disappointed in her life as a grown-up and hopes to be seen and recognised by someone who is more successful, attractive and charismatic than she is. If he reciprocated her love, this would solve all her problems, she believes. But how will he react to her ultimate attempt to get in touch with him? And what does Heijmans think of the filmmakers who follow her in the process?

When twenty-three-year-old Jerry moves back home to take care of his father, he finds himself struggling with his role as a caregiver. After all, his life as a music producer in the big city looked – and felt! – very different. One day, he dives into his father’s music cabinet and one of his pop’s old records turns out to be the ultimate source for some new, sick samples – and the foundation for a deeper bond to grow between them.