Uilenbal

Owls & Mice | Der Fall Mäuserich
‘So Peepeep is literally in here?’ · ‘Exactly. Or at least his bones are.’

Meral is new in the city and immediately finds a playmate: he is small, grey and a mouse. So it's not so bad that her new classmates are not quite as welcoming. She has her hands full with Peepeep anyway. To keep her new friend from getting caught in a mousetrap, she takes him along on a school camp. He will surely feel at home in the woods, with the hedgehogs, deer and other animals. But such an outing to the wilderness holds its own danger, especially for an ignorant city mouse. To the children's horror, Peepeep lands up in the talons of an owl! Yet after their initial shock, they come to understand more about the cycle of life. What sounds like an off-putting experience turns out to be an exciting lesson about the wonders of nature, interspersed with musical numbers.
by Simone van Dusseldorp
with Hiba Ghafry, Jashayra Oehlers, Felix van de Weerdt, Mathieu Hinzen, Mariana Aparicio Torres, Mimoun Oaissa, Birgit Schuurman
Netherlands 2016 Dutch 80’ Colour Rating R0

With

  • Hiba Ghafry (Meral)
  • Jashayra Oehlers (Desi)
  • Felix van de Weerdt (Vito)
  • Mathieu Hinzen (Jason)
  • Mariana Aparicio Torres (Serine)
  • Mimoun Oaissa (Aziz)
  • Birgit Schuurman (Teacher Ietje)

Crew

Written and Directed by Simone van Dusseldorp
Cinematography Ton Peters, Stephan Polman
Editing Peter Alderliesten
Music Kees van der Vooren
Sound Design Peter Flamman
Sound Sander den Broeder
Production Design Florian Legters
Costumes Monica Petit
Make-Up Françoise Mol
Assistant Director Anne van Dongen
Casting Elske Falkena, Janusz Gosschalk, Leonie Luttik
Line Producer Juri Keuter, Fleur van den Berg
Producers Eva Eisenloeffel, Leontine Petit, Joost de Vries
Executive Producer Elsemijn Teulings
Co-Producer Anna van der Staak
Co-Production VPRO Hilversum

Produced by

Lemming Film

Simone van Dusseldorp

Born in Tilburg, the Netherlands in 1967, she studied photography at the Dutch Academy of Art and Design St Joost, audiovisual communication at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, and then directing at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam. Her graduation film Waterlanders won first prize at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. She directed a number of short films and childrens’ television series before making Diep, her debut feature film. Uilenbal (Owls & Mice) was the opening film at last year's Cinekid children’s film festival in Amsterdam.

Filmography (selection)

2000 Het; short film 2001 Exit; short film 2005 Diep (Deep) 2009 Kikkerdril (Frogs & Toads) 2010 Briefgeheim (Secret Letter) 2015 Het leven volgens Nino (Life According to Nino) 2016 Uilenbal (Owls & Mice)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2017