The term “moving” has become overused these days, but it’s fitting in this case: This is a truly moving film, thanks to the sensitive direction of Saskia Boddeke, but mostly thanks to the incredible group of theater actors it features, all of whom have special needs.
The film follows the actors’ rehearsal process for a play they are staging and focuses on everyone’s personal preparation. The participants are a close group of professional actors with various disabilities, and the camera catches the fears, minor disagreements, and gestures of encouragement and love that they share.
The play is a colorful fairytale (both in content and form), resulting in the film being an equally rich and colorful viewing experience. The everyday lives of the actors, their hardships and doubts, also seep into the imagination and magic of the fairytale – and the film succeeds in presenting them without slipping into sentimentality.
*Festivals : Special Mention IDFA Dutch Competition 2022, Grand Prix Le Fifa 2023, Film Forward Competition at Thessaloniki 2023, Gouden Kalf selection at the Netherlands Film Festival 2023*