Thom Vander Beken is a documentary filmmaker and virtual reality director living between Brussels and Berlin. He holds a master’s degree in Dutch and English literature from the University of Ghent (B). He wrote his thesis on post-colonial Afrikaans-language literature and received a scholarship to study at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. He also has a master’s in directing from Luca School of Arts, Brussels (B).
He made several mid-length films that were selected for several international festivals. In 2017, his first feature documentary, ‘I Know You Are There’, premiered in competition at Visions du Réel in Nyon, Switzerland. The film was screened at several other international festivals and was broadcast in Belgium. ‘The Last Jewish Summer’ is his second feature documentary.
FILMOGRAPHY
2009 Lost In Transition
A film about the generation of Serbian youngsters who grew up during the civil war in the 1990s. Produced by Bart Van Langendonck for Savage Film. With the support of the VAF, Canvas, and the EU Media Programme.
2013 Martin’s Journey
A film about a Belgian Jewish family trying to reconstruct their family history in Germany and Poland.
2017 I Know You Are There
In the Liège hospital of the famous neurologist Steven Laureys, 29-year-old Quentin is examined for a week. Quentin has been in a deep coma for ten years and his family must decide about his future. Will this decision bring the family closer together or drive them further apart? Produced by Tomas Leyers for Minds Meet, in co-production with Volya Film (NL) and Stempel (B). With the support of the VAF, Dutch Film Fund, and CCA. The film was broadcast by VRT Canvas (B).
2023 The Interview VR
The VR puts you in the shoes of an immigration officer. You interview four Afghan asylum seekers and then have to decide who can stay and who should be sent back to their country of origin. Produced by Tomas Leyers for Minds Meet and in co-production with hug films (D). With the support of the VAF and the MDM, Mitteldeutsche medienförderung.
2024 The Last Jewish Summer
In the summer of 1942, Antwerp’s Jews were rounded up and deported. More than eighty years later, a group of students from a super-diverse school in Antwerp meet relatives of Jewish families who were deported that summer. They also meet relatives of the men responsible for the arrests. In Belgium, we have been silent for far too long about our collective responsibility for what went wrong during that last Jewish summer. What can we learn from that past today? Produced by Marc Goyens for Quetzalcoatl. With the support of VAF, CCA, VRT Canvas, the national lottery, screen brussels, and Claims Conference.
Thom Vander Beken 