– How did you decide to become a director and the Rits in Brussels?

I grew up in a small village in Belgium. I always felt too peculiar to fit in and my curiosity was much larger than I anticipated. I adored beauty and therefore I was eager to expand my horizon. When my mother enrolled me as a nurse, I rebelled. I entered the entrance exams at the Rits and got accepted.

– How did the Newport film school (Now the University of Wales) contribute to you being a director?

At first, I was disappointed in the film studies at the university. The quality of the Master’s degree failed to impress me. However, after several weeks, I met some of the most interesting people. To this day, I consider these people my closest friends. They help me grow and reflect, not only on a personal level but also on my cinematographic work.

– Is there a main difference in film between Belgium and the UK?

I feel it depends on how you look at the film. In many aspects, it is the same. To be honest, I am still at an entry-level when it comes to film in Belgium. There are so many different genres and both Wallonie and Flandres tackle each in a different style. While each country has its own house style, mainstream pop culture is following similar fashions.

“I construct fictional stories from personal experiences, an incident or a feeling. This brings me closure after certain grievances. I give it a context. It’s how I capture the moment and how I make it mine forever.”

– Your short film SHIMI has played at multiple festivals. What is the film about and where did you draw your inspiration?

Yes true, I was fortunate that SHIMI played on several festivals like ‘Independent Days’, ‘Serile Filmului Gay’ and ‘Scenic Film Festival’. The film was also picked up by the discovery platform FilmDoo that let the film travel the world. SHIMI is about Keely, a lonely sixteen-year-old teenager and ballerina, who meets Mairi, an eccentric and attractive girl who is her complete opposite. As the pair are drawn closer to one another, Keely’s limits of desire and self-control are put to the test. The inspiration for the film is drawn from sentiments I experienced during an intimate friendship.

– Are there similarities between your projects?

I construct fictional stories from personal experiences, an incident or a feeling. This brings me closure after certain grievances. I give it a context. It’s how I capture the moment and how I make it mine forever.

– For Private Art Tours you’ve created some fun and creative promotional video’s. (you even created the music) Are there major differences with your own work?

There is definitely a difference between my own work. Although, the lines get blurred when I have autonomy on a promotional video. I experiment and think about how to approach a subject differently. As with promotional video’s the emphasis is rather on selling the product. Fiction and experimenting with imagery remain my biggest passion.

– Do you look up to someone?

Ever since I was an infant I was definitely fascinated by Marie Laveau and Mary, Queen of Scots. Both women have intriguing backstories. They differ a great deal and therefore inspire me in distinct and unusual ways.

In addition, I am a massive fan of East Asian cinema. I love it when there’s great care in composition and colour like in ‘Hero’. I’m living for the film ‘2LDK’ which has many absurd elements. Composition, Colour and absurdism are, alongside surrealism, keywords in my work.

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– What’s the next step? Are you working on anything new?

I’m currently writing a short script called “A Bird’s suicide”, and I’m brainstorming a documentary about Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a poetic documentary about Ethiopian people who all live in Belgium. This poem begins with Naomi, an art conservator, who was adopted as an infant. She aspires to share her knowledge with local people on how to conserve the Ethiopian cultural heritage.

A bird’s suicide is a short dark comedy about two psychopaths who hunt each other and fall in love.

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