Still: ALPHA. © Douwe Hennink

19 July 2024

ALPHA.** is Jan Willem’s fourth feature film. In this existential adventure, Rein, a young snowboard teacher who works in the Alps, receives a visit from his father Gijs from the Netherlands. They venture together into the snowy mountains where they collide head-on, both with the overwhelming nature surrounding them and also with each other. The roles of Rein and Gijs are played by actors Reinout and Gijs Scholten van Aschat, who are also father and son in real life.

The film is produced by Amsterdam-based BALDR Film in co-production with Lomotion (CH), Staragara (SL), VPRO (NL), SRF  / SRG SSR (CH) and blue Entertainment (CH) and has been supported by the Netherlands Film Fund, Netherlands Production Incentive, CoBO Fund, Federal Office of Culture (FOC), Slovenian Film Centre and Creative Europe Media.

Jan-Willem van Ewijk debuted with Nu. (2006), for which he received an Honourable Mention for Best First Feature at the Netherlands Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the European Independent Film Festival Paris. This was followed by Atlantic.* (2014), his sophomore feature that screened at many other festivals worldwide, including Toronto, Dubai and Rotterdam. Van Ewijk’s Pacifica.**  will be released in cinemas in the Netherlands this summer.

The 21nd edition of Venice’s Giornate degli Autori takes place from 28 August to 7 September.

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*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund
**Film is supported by the Production Incentive