The company’s move into sales offers a greater degree of control over the films he will be representing, de Vries explains. “It is really exciting to be able to give a full package now to filmmakers and to do the best for each filmmaker, the producer or the film in general,” he adds. “I have been working from a talent development perspective and I really think sales can add to that.”

The future Kapitein Kort slate will not be massive, no more than 5-10 films per year, but de Vries’ eye for film and his intensive knowledge of the festival circuit gained over the past years already means that two of his films are selected for major upcoming fests.

Emma Branderhorst’s Spotless* is selected for Berlinale Generation, having previously won Best Short Narrative Film at Cinekid 2021. The logline reads how, with many menstrual products seen as an over-priced luxury product, Spotless tells the story of many unheard women and aims to open the conversation and break the taboo of period poverty. Meanwhile, Daphne Lucker’s graduation short Sisters (15 minutes) is selected for the Clermont Ferrand film retrospective programme Let’s Dance.

When interviewed by See NL in September, De Vries described Clermont-Ferrand as “one of the best festivals if you work in short films… everybody who is anybody in the short industry is there.”

Also on De Vries’ books is Milou Gevers’ Why Didn't You Stay For Me?, which won the 2021 Student Academy award on the same day it picked up the prize for Best Dutch Short Documentary at Cinekid. “The film is about children who lost their parents to suicide. So it is quite controversial and it is sometimes really hard to program because it is a heavy film,” he says. “But if it gets programmed, then it wins awards - a lot.” Other awards include the Jury Prize at the Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth and the CILECT Prize.

“Many of the films I represent cover social issues and are a perfect fit for educational purposes,” De Vries points out. “They explore, most of the time, themes that are relevant to young audiences who consume their films mostly online. So I am extra interested in meeting buyers that have a prominent online presence or can offer educational opportunities.”

“And my films are mostly narrative fiction. I do work with documentaries, but mostly if they transcend the genre, using different forms,” he adds, pointing to Why Didn't You Stay For Me? which is part animation.

Despite the structural developments within Kapitein Kort, de Vries still does not quite see his as a full-time job. “Well, maybe it is, but I do other things on the side as well,” he re-assesses. Not only does he advise/consult on festival strategies he runs the Industry office of the Kaboom Animation Festival in The Netherlands and in late 2021 launched The Living Room Film Festival, which is programmed by under-25s, so that the selection remains fresh and original.

During the September 2021 Holland Film Meeting of the Netherlands Film Festival De Vries was unveiled as one of the four Dutch Talents en Route, at which point he distilled his professional modus operandi in conversation with See NL. “In general, I work from a talent development perspective and just want to help short filmmakers who are making amazing films.”

Visit Hidde de Vries' Kapitein Kort website here. For more information on Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, click here.
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*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund