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Beate Gminder
Beate (German) studied journalism in Munich and joined the civil service of the European Commission in 1995. When Nadine started filming her in 2017 she was the Secretary General at the European Ombudsman's Office. Shen then became director at the European Commission, managing the EU's migration, asylum and integration budgets, including the funding for border and police cooperation. In november 2020 Beate was nominated deputy Director General, heading the recently established Taskforce Migration Management that aims to improve the migration management on Lesvos (Greece). For that purpose she now spends about 30% of her worktime in Greece.
Joanna Sopinska
Joanna (Polish) holds a masters in international relations from the University of Lódź in Poland. She started her studies there in 1995, six years after the fall of communism. In 2004 she completed a masters in European Affairs from the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht. Two years after Poland joined the EU, Joanna moved to Brussels where she has become an experienced reporter on trade, investment policy and foreign affairs. She now writes for MLex Market Insight as senior trade correspondent.
Anne-Cécile Gault
After completing her masters in both French-German relations and European Affairs from Science Po in Strasbourg, Anne-Cécile (French) became a 'Robert Schuman' trainee at the office of the European Parliament in Munich. When Nadine started filming her in june 2017, she was the political assistant to French Member of the European Parliament Nathalie Griesbeck (Mouvement Democrate, Renew Europe-group). Since the summer of 2019, Anne-Cecile works for French MEP Laurence Farreng, also from the Mouvement Democrate.
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Director: Nadine van Loon
Nadine (Dutch) holds a Masters degree in Contemporary History and currently lives in Brussels. She was a political assistant to a Dutch Member of the European Parliament (D66), then joined the Dutch Foreign Service where she mainly worked in EU-related positions. Along the way she increasingly followed her urge to explore through storytelling how the spirit of our times impacts people’s life choices. Between 2006 and 2009, during a sabbatical leave, she lived in Morocco as a journalist writing for Dutch newspapers and magazines. Back in the Netherlands she decided to leave the Foreign Service in 2012. As a filmmaker, she made several short films for museum exhibitions. ‘Notes from Brussels’ will be her documentary debut.
Editor: Merel Notten
'NOTES FROM BRUSSELS gives an inside view into a ‘niche society’ that has its impact on the lives of millions of European citizens; citizens that know very little of how that ‘niche society’ works. Nadine’s portrays three people practicing what you can call ‘top sport’. I find it inspiring to see what people are capable of when performing on a high level and dedicating their lives to a dream or ideal or a passion. And at the same time there is this immediate visible tragedy of the costs of such choices in life.'
Merel (Dutch) lives in Amsterdam where she works as an editor/filmmaker, composer and teacher. She studied audio-visual design (HKU) in Utrecht. Her work as an editor includes drama TV series, documentaries and feature films. In 2005 she received a Golden Kalf nomination from the Netherlands Film Festival for the editing of the feature film ‘0605’.In 2001 she decided to make way for her passion for music and combined her work as an editor with studying composition and arranging at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Between 2010 and 2014 she worked on Bonaire as a filmmaker for local nature organisations and the International Union for the Conversation of Nature.
Project advisor: Karijn Kakebeeke
‘What makes NOTES FROM BRUSSELS so interesting is that it’s about women who are successful ánd in pursuit of their dreams and yet cannot shy away from the tension caused by precisely those elements.'
Karijn (Dutch) is an experienced visual storyteller. She holds a Masters in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam, a post graduate diploma in Photojournalism from the London School of Communication and certificates in photovoice and videography. Karijn is a documentary photographer who specialises in participatory visual storytelling methods. She has set up her own foundation that uses participatory photographic techniques for community-based capacity building for refugee communities in the Netherlands, focussing on building networks and disseminating and integrating their ‘point of view’ with and to larger audiences. She also produced a series of short filmportraits on resettled refugees to the Netherlands for UNHCR. Her work has been widely published in Dutch and international press and exhibited in various museums and art spaces.
Consultant & moderator: Daria Nashat
'We often hear complaints about the EU bureaucracy and its technocrats. Rarely do we get an insight into the lives of those who serve the European project. This documentary succeeds in taking you behind the scenes and gives you a surprisingly intimate insight into the everyday lives of three women whose dream of a united Europe brought them to Brussels.'
Daria (German) is co-founder of the peer-learning network 'Women in Politics', and trainer, facilitator and speaker on gender-balanced leadership, resilience strategies, and self-care. Daria believes that leadership starts with taking good care of yourself and that kindness in politics is possible. She is a certified Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) trainer, co-founder of the Women’s Sanctuary Circle, and a WIIS Brussels Steering Committee member. Prior to founding her own business, she worked for 15+ years in the field of peacebuilding, refugee return and community building. To find out more visit:www.darianashat.com.
Script-coaching: Fleur Amesz
Fleur (Dutch) is a documentary filmmaker based in Amsterdam. She has directed several documentary films for Dutch public television, among which 'Schone Schijn' (2Doc- KRO-NCRV, 2018) and 'Op Volle Retouren' (VPRO Tegenlicht, 2020). She also worked for broadcasters in the US like Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel and PBS in New York City. Fleur holds Masters degree in Sociology (UvA) and a Masters degree in Media Arts (LIU Brooklyn Campus).
Co-producer: WINDMILL FILM - Annemiek van der Hell
WINDMILL FILM develops and creates distinctive documentaries & feature films for cinema, television and streaming platforms. WINDMILL FILM has a strong focus on international projects as majority -and minority producer. Together with Wallie Pollé WINDMILL FILM DISTRIBUTION distributes films for every possible medium. www.windmillfilm.com
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