ABOUT THE FILM: When a man doesn’t resurface from a professional scuba diving session, his wife and children are left shattered, without a chance to bid farewell. How will they move on from this tragedy? Because there’s no body, there can be no funeral or farewell. Weighed down by her unbearable grief, Merel (Thekla Reuten) avoids everything surrounding her husband’s death, forcing her two children to look for answers themselves, which eventually brings the family to crisis point. Before she can start a new life with her children, Merel must face the loss in her own unique way. This beautifully crafted 2022 debut feature from Martijn de Jong won multiple Gouden Kalfs (Dutch Oscars) and was the Dutch Oscar submission for best international film.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: Martijn de Jong is a writer and director who graduated with honors at the Willem de Kooning Academy in 2004 and studied at the Dutch Film Academy before becoming a creative at Wefilm. He has won Spinawards, ADCN Awards, a VCP Kodak Award, an Esprix, and a Cannes Lion award. His award-winning fiction films include Vrij (Free, 2014); Stand-By Me (2013); and Narcosis (2022), which was the Official Dutch Submission for the Academy Awards.

Supported by the Dutch Culture USA program of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York

co-presented by Leiden International Film Festival, the Netherlands