Alex Verhaest is a filmmaker investigating the possibilities of interactivity and responsivity within cinematic arts. The basis of each film is a highly narrative script around which she creates a cinematic installation consisting of objects, videos and interactive videos. Her work operates on the juxtaposition of painting, videogame and cinema extended. With each film, Alex dives into what it means to make films in a multi-screen post-Nintendo society. Her debut solo Temps Mort/Idle Times has been selected by several art and new media festivals and been awarded with the prestigious 2015 Ars Electronica Golden Nica and the New Face Award. At the moment, she’s working on the post production of the video installation ‘Ad Hominem’ and the short film ‘Jour des Crêpes’ while preparing the script for her new short film.
Alex Verhaest
Michiel Robberecht
Born in 1990 Michiel Robberecht grew up in Antwerp, Belgium, while his family on his mother’s side was living in the Democratic Republic of Congo until the early years 2000. Michiel got his Master degree in Arts & Literature at the University of Antwerp and during this studies fell in love with cinema. Scenes like Anita Ekberg & Marcello Mastroianni watching their own moving images in Intervista or Jean Epsteins crystal ball in Le Tempestaire impregnated him with a deep fascination for the magic of the cinematic art form for telling stories. After university he started film school, but after one year decided to quit and chose to learn making films by self-discovery. He set off to Congo and lived there for half a year in a small village in the Congolese rainforest and made his first independent movie Peer Gynt. In the wake of this short film he made the documentary Bateau Peer Gynt, currently in post-production, about this unique cinematographic adventure. At the moment Michiel is working on a new short film and his first feature film ’The Million…’.
After studying psychology in Belgium, Wim Vanacker moved to Dublin to work as a psychologist in the field of drug addiction. Three years later, he picked up studying again at EICAR where he made two shorts : Endgame and The Naked leading the Blind. After graduating, he discovered NISI MASA – European Network of Young Cinema where he became the Head of the Script Department and the Project manager of the MEDIA funded project, European Short Pitch. Furthermore, he’s a member of the Selection Committee for the Official Short Film Competition of the Cannes Film Festival and he works as a script consultant, creative advisor, tutor and guest speaker for many film festivals and projects in development. As a writer/director, he’s currently developing the short film Psycho Revisited.