VPRO documentary prize 2022 to Filho - VPRO

The VPRO documentary prize 2022 was awarded to the Filho crew on Friday 7 October. The documentary tells the personal story of filmmaker Tomas Ponsteen, who was adopted from Brazil as a baby in 1994. The prize was awarded for the fifteenth time by the VPRO to the best graduation documentary of the Dutch Film Academy.

In Filho , Tomas Ponsteen focuses on the question: is it a duty of every adoptee to find his or her biological mother? Even if you don't feel that need at all?

Tomas was adopted as a baby from Brazil. He is satisfied with his life as it is now and does not feel the need to look for his biological mother. But there is much to be done about adoption, and the abuses are great.

With every news item the question arises: what if I have not been surrendered voluntarily? And above all: shouldn't I investigate why I don't feel the need to search? These questions are the starting point for a series of impressive encounters.

verdict of the jury

The verdict of the jury, consisting of Ersin Kiris (programme maker and presenter of DocTalks at 2Doc.nl), Karen van Dijk (editor-in-chief VPRO) and Barbara Truyen (head of documentary VPRO): 'It is an impressive story that we don't see often and from the very first minute we were on the edge of our seats trying to figure out where this was going.

'All departments are at the service of the story. And we can see that the team on this film has gone to great lengths to explore the dilemma at its core and explore its edges.

'The director bears the responsibility of this quest and pays a lot of attention to the perspectives of the great characters. Every time we think we know what's going to happen, there's a new twist to the story. We are left with no clear answer, and the dilemma is still echoing in our heads.'

The documentary was made in collaboration with broadcaster EO. The graduating crew of Filho consists of Tomas Ponsteen (director), Robijn Boekelman, Myrthe Laarakker, Roosje Vermeulen (production), Katja van den Broeke (cinematography), Alex Elsinga (editing), Felicia Koolhoven (sound design), Zoë Beekes (sound recording ), Nancy Rabbit (sound mixing), Luke van Aarle and Cinque Kelie (VFX supervision), Mojan Alaiyeh (music).

about the VPRO documentary prize

With the VPRO documentary prize, the VPRO wants to stimulate young documentary talent. The prize is awarded to the team that realizes the best graduation documentary at the Dutch Film Academy. The jury always looks at the whole. How do all the different graduating disciplines within the documentary come into its own? The prize consists of a Golden Ticket to a documentary festival. The makers can find inspiration here, watch films, follow masterclasses and get an introduction to the international documentary market.

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