NICOLE VAN KILSDONK (1965) is a director and scriptwriter. After finishing School for Journalism, Nicole van Kilsdonk went to the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam and graduated in 1991 with the film Post Reykjavik. .After making a few documentaries she specialized in writing and directing fiction films.
Her work could be called ‘crossover’: stories about the times in which we live told in an accessible way, in which directing the actors is her first interest. She made films for grown-ups as well as for children. Especially the familyfilms Taking Chances and The day my father became a bush travelled around the world widely and won many prizes on international filmfestivals.
She made several tv-series short films (SALE!, Zoe), 4 single plays for tv (50 minutes), and 7 telemovies (features mainly for tv), like, Dawnswimmers a much awarded film musical, and Deining, awarded with the Golden Kalf (main Dutch movie prize) and recently Lost&Found. Van Kilsdonk also made a children’s series for tv, totally shot in Suriname (Palemu’s taxi).
Untill now Nicole has made 8 feature films: ‘Johan’ (2005) awarded with Grand Prize of the Worldfest Houston. The child’s feature ‘How to survive myself’ (2008, Audience Award Filmfestival Giffoni).
The art house film ‘Heading West’ (2010) and ‘Patatje Oorlog/Taking Chances’ (Berlinale 2012, Cinekid Award Best Feature Film, ECFA Award, GoldenTrophy India, Buff, Kristiansand, Giffoni and more), the dramafilm In the Heart (, 2014) and the Dutch-Belgian light drama featurefilm Ventoux (2015).
The familyfilm The day my father became a bush (Dutch, Belgian, Croatian coproduction, ECFA Award etc), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2016. Her latest film Oude Liefde (‘Forbidden love’ ) premiered Oct ‘2017 and was made with the same team as In the heart.
Nicole also worked on several tv-series: Together with Mijke de Jong en Dana Nechustan she made the series Het Labyrint. In 2006 she directed a children’s series De Taxi van Palemu totally shot in Suriname and awarded with the Dutch Tv-Prize. In 2018 she directed several episodes of the tv-series Zuidas for Dutch tv. In 2019 she co-directed a childen’s serie together with Anne van der Heide Rudy’s Grote Kerstshow.
Nicole is now writing on sequel of Ventoux: Casa di David and will direct several episodes of the historical series The Story of the Netherlands for Dutch tv. In 2023 her tv film Okbythanks will be released, main parts are played by 2 deaf girls, totally performed in sign language. Meanwhile Nicole is working on the feature film Breakwater (Noodweer) together with writer Marijke Schermer, based on her succesful book.