What is Vlaams Filmpje?

Vlaams Filmpje (translates into “Flemish Movie” – the title stems from short stories for children in elementary school) is a Dutch tragicomedy conceptualized in 2007 and performed in 2008. During the course of this project, I switched from being just the scriptwriter and creator to being the director, producer and part of the cast. It is the first thing I created for an audience.

The play was performed 10-14 March, 2008, in De Koelisse in Heverlee (near Leuven). It was a part of the University Theatre Festival, an initiative allowing university students to create theatre pieces at very low costs and with as little bureaucracy as possible. Unfortunately, this initiative died a premature death after its fifth run in 2009.

Part of this festival involved a professional jury watching and judging your creation. Prizes were handed out accordingly. Vlaams Filmpje won in the “acting” category (for my performance as Johan) as well as the “best play” category – the main prize. It was also nominated in the “best music” and “best directing” categories. Reason for this unexpected success was the strong, unexpected and yet very believable story.

You can check out some pictures on this page or read more at the official website.

What’s it about?

Vlaams Filmpje is a tragicomedy set at a kitchen table. It revolves around four students, living together in a student house, earning money to pay their bills and their university fees. The work is so demeaning they spend their entire nights around the kitchen table, sharing stories about prostitution, drugs, having no more selfworth and the social system.

But who are these people? What makes them tick?

I want to watch it online!

You can watch the entire play online – of course, it is in Dutch. Should you be interested in watching it on DVD, you can order one through e-mail.

I want to find out more!

Vlaams Filmpje is a project which is over. I currently have no intentions of doing anything with the script. Should you be interested in it, you can always drop me a line.

You can read more about the creation process of Vlaams Filmpje at its Project Page on this website. There you can find all posts I made when writing and producing it – including a very detailed analysis of the weeks prior the premiere and a lenghty evaluation of the play.