Fokke Baarssen

Fokke Baarssen was born in Almelo, The Netherlands. He is a writer, director, producer and actor. Fokke's debut film "The Counsil" (2012), about child abuse in the Dutch carnival scene, won awards for Best Debut Film and Best Screenplay at the Eindhoven Film Festival. While making name for himself as a Dutch stage actor, Fokke co-produced the award winning American documentary "Destressed" (2014), about Garry Pastore, a New Yorker who suffered from PTSD since the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Fokke and his camera followed Garry on his quest to find inner peace and mindfulness. "Destressed" has won five awards at international film festivals, including Best Documentary and the Audience Choice Award at the Garden State Film Festival. After this, Fokke became a regular at this festival. His next five films were all selected and won awards at New Jersey's most prestigious film festival. His latest short films "Match", "Missed", "Swung" and "Game Über" were selected for over 100+ film festivals worldwide and garnered more than 20 awards. Fokke continues to develop himself as an all round filmmaker, switching from directing, writing and producing to editing and cinematography. He made his film acting debut in the Dutch film "Los" (2023).