TalentScope is the talent development programme for directors that the Netherlands Film Fund has been organising since 2024 in collaboration with FilmForward, ACE Producers, and TorinoFilmLab.
In 2024, three teams were selected for TalentScope, consisting of directors Victoria Warmerdam, Valerie Bisscheroux, and Zara Dwinger. The Netherlands Film Fund received eight promising applications. These eight directorial teams pitched their projects to the selection committee consisting of producer and TorinoFilmLab tutor Eilon Ratzkovsky, producer and ACE producer Eve Gabereau, film consultant Kaweh Modiri, and Head of Selective Funding Iwana Chronis. The three selected teams and projects are:
Boy Meets Bot
Director/Screenwriter: Victoria Warmerdam
Producer: OAK Motion Pictures
Logline: In the tragicomic sci-fi drama Boy Meets Bot, the “boy” in the title is an ordinary man in his early forties who tries to process the loss of his deceased wife, by purchasing a hyperrealistic RoboPartner. What begins as the seemingly perfect solution for his grief, turns into a true nightmare when his RoboPartner discovers that she is a bot.
Victoria Warmerdam previously made the comedy Korte Kuitspier and the short sci-fi drama I Am Not a Robot, which was awarded Best Short Film at the renowned Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival.
What’s Wrong with Sylvester
Director/Screenwriter: Zara Dwinger
Producer: Studio Ruba
Logline: After a mental breakdown abroad, Sylvester is forced into mandatory group therapy and, at 35, has to live with her parents again. She arrives with a broken heart and an unfortunate face tattoo, and wants to return to her ‘normal’ life as soon as possible. Sylvester prefers to run away from her problems, but struggles through a summer full of dysfunctional family dynamics and an uncomfortable search for (self)love.
Zara Dwinger’s first feature film, Kiddo, had its world premiere at Berlinale 2023.
The Muffler / De Knalpot
Director: Valerie Bisscheroux
Screenwriter: Maud Wiemeijer
Co-creator: Hanna van Vliet
Producer: Labyrint Film
Logline: In the bleak Amsterdam of the 1980s, polar opposites Rita and Cora establish De Knalpot, a car garage for and by women, in a squatted building. In five years, the place grows into an important base and a close-knit community of free-spirited (lesbian) women. When the municipality threatens to close down the garage, the women must join forces to save their beloved place.
Valerie, Maud, and Hanna previously created the hit series and film Anne+ together.
