Stephan Brenninkmeijer

Born and raised at the picturesque Medieval Castle of Doorwerth in the Netherlands, Stephan Brenninkmeijer grew up in rural Dutch cities before he studied at the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam. He graduated as a director and editor with Rerun (1992). Specializing in drama and thrillers his first project after graduating was the much acclaimed TV-series Called to the Bar (1993), which won the Nipkow disc and the Dutch Golden Calf award. As an editor he worked with directors such as the Academy Award winner Mike van Diem, Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen, Maarten Treurniet and many others. Both as editor and director he was one of the creative pillars of the successful TV series Westenwind (1999). It won the prestigious Golden Televizier ring award. In 2001, Brenninkmeijer won a Golden Crown Award at the Atlanta ICVM Festival for Best International Film for his directorial feature-debut: De stilte van het naderen (2000). His first theatrical feature Swingers (2002) was picked up by A-Film Distributors. It stirred up some controversy but garnered critical acclaim. Especially in Germany the film scored big on ZDF television with an audience of more than 3 million and had multiple reruns. In 2011, his second theatrical feature Caged (2011) was released and especially struck a chord with female audiences. In 2012 Brenninkmeijer was part of the highly anticipated user generated film project "Entertainment Experience", helmed by famed Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. Brenninkmeijer directed his counterpart Lotgenoten (2013) and won half of all the episodes. The project won the International Emmy Award in 2013. Entertainment Experience (2011) Since 2014 he participates in the "48 hour film project" to coach young talent in the business. His shorts have won multiple awards.