// services
How I Work
Character-driven documentary storytelling, as a single film or as a year of it.
01
Character-Driven Documentary Films
Real life stories that allow people to understand AND feel your work
Every film begins with deep, personal conversations: with your team, your community, the people whose lives your work touches. Through these conversations I find the story that will resonate most. The result is a cinematic, immersive character-driven documentary film that slows down and focuses on what truly matters.
Same craft, same care, different job. The film takes one of two shapes:
North Star Films
Built around one person inside your organisation: the one who carries the reason it exists, told so that someone outside can understand what holds the work together.
Start here if four people inside describe what you do four different ways, or if partners keep misreading what you are for.
Stories of Change
Built around one person your work changed, staying close enough to that difference for a viewer to feel it rather than read about it.
Start here if you have results and need someone to feel them, or if the next round of funding rests on proving the work landed.
If you would like to engage your audience on a deeper level, book a conversation and let’s explore your next story together.
Every organisation has multiple stories. I start by having deep, personal conversations with the people in your story space: your team, your beneficiaries, the people whose lives your work touches. These aren’t scripted interviews; they’re real, open conversations that help me understand what’s truly at the heart of your work. From there, together we find the story that resonates most with your audience and aligns with your goals.
Purpose-driven organisations: NGOs, foundations, social enterprises, and B-corps that need to communicate complex messages in an accessible, emotionally resonant way.
A well-told documentary story does what no report or infographic can: it makes people care. These films become long-lasting assets for your campaigns, website, social channels, and presentations.
Campaign launches, advocacy, fundraising, annual reports, website hero content, award submissions, and stakeholder engagement.
02
Story System
One story. Everywhere it needs to work.
A film is watched in more places than a screening room. It plays on mute in a LinkedIn feed. It loops on a monitor at a trade fair. It sits in a pitch deck, an email, an exhibitor profile. The Story System plans for that before the camera rolls. One shoot cycle, one character-driven story, delivered as a complete set of assets so the story works in every one of those places.
What one System delivers:
The film
The character-driven documentary, 3 to 4 minutes. The full story, for the people ready to sit with it.
Signature Cut
60 to 90 seconds, carried by the person who carries the film. For pitch decks, exhibitor profiles, and the first meeting.
Process film
Under 60 seconds, where the story allows it. Real hands showing the work happening. Documentary evidence, no animation. Where the story has no process to show, this slot becomes additional short cuts.
Silent event loop
30 to 90 seconds, built to run on mute with large captions. For trade fair booths and event screens.
Vertical clips
Three to six clips of 15 to 30 seconds, subtitles burned in, made for LinkedIn and Instagram.
Stills
Frames from the film for thumbnails, booth graphics, and newsletters.
A short written guide on how to use each asset: where it goes, what it is for, how to get it seen. Part of working together, no extra line on the quote.
Organisations whose story has to work across channels at once. Teams heading into a fundraise, a trade fair season, or a campaign where the same story must reach a booth visitor, a feed scroller, and a decision-maker reading a deck.
Most organisations commission a film, love it, and then discover it only fits one place. The System removes that discovery. The shoot is framed and planned for every format from day one, so the story arrives ready for the feed, the fair, and the boardroom at the same time.
03
Narrative Partnership
Lead your communication with human stories, all year long
A year-long collaboration for organisations that want to stop starting from scratch every quarter. Instead of commissioning film by film, you get a storytelling partner who already knows your mission, your context, and your people, and a narrative that builds on itself instead of resetting.
If the content scramble is wearing you out, book a conversation and let's map the year together.
We start by going deep on your mission, your audience, and what you need the year to achieve. From there I work in quarters: finding the story, filming it, and delivering it, while quarterly planning sessions keep the direction honest as your priorities move.
Organisations with ongoing programmes and year-round communication: nonprofits and foundations talking to donors, and purpose-driven companies that want their values to show rather than be stated. It suits people who already know storytelling works and are tired of restarting it every time.
A single film says one thing well. A year of them builds a narrative identity, and each story adds to the last. You also stop paying the restart cost: no re-explaining your mission, no rebuilding trust with a new crew, no scrambling when something needs to go out.
Sustained donor and funder communication, recruitment, campaigns that run across a year, and any organisation whose work keeps producing stories faster than it can tell them.
// what you get
Honest about scope.
I don’t publish fixed packages because every project is different. What I am clear about upfront is the scope: what gets made, over how many shoot days, and what you get back.
Character-Driven Documentary Film
Every film starts with deep, personal conversations. I talk to the people in your story space to find the narrative that best supports your goals. Pre-production follows three creative milestones: keyword definitions to align on feeling and goal, character selection, and storyboarding. Then 1–2 shoot days, editing, colour, and sound.
Each project gets a detailed written proposal with the exact scope before you commit. No surprises.
All projects include a detailed written proposal with clear scope before any commitment. No surprises.
// common questions
Things people ask before they reach out.
Yes, the majority of my work is international. I’ve filmed across 8+ countries and counting. I’m based in Flanders but regularly work across Europe and beyond. Travel is always scoped in clearly and upfront.
A character-driven documentary takes 6 to 8 weeks from brief to final delivery, depending on pre-production and access to the people at the heart of the story.
Always. After an initial conversation I’ll write a clear proposal covering scope, deliverables, and timeline, all before any contract is signed. I only move forward when both sides are fully clear on what we’re making and why.
Sometimes, yes. If your mission resonates and there’s creative room to reduce scope (fewer deliverables, one shoot day instead of two), I’ll tell you honestly what’s possible. What I won’t do is over-promise and under-deliver. Better to do one thing well than three things poorly.
Book a conversation. I’ll ask you about your goals, your audience, and what you’re hoping the film actually does. From there I’ll suggest the format that makes the most sense, not the biggest one. The call is free and there’s no pressure.
My main working languages are English, Dutch, and German. But with some creative trickery I’ve managed to make films in many other languages too. If the story is right, we’ll find a way.
As involved as you’d like, but I don’t need micromanagement to do good work. I’ll keep you informed at every stage. Most clients say they’re surprised at how smooth the process feels once we’ve aligned on the story direction at the start.
The craft is identical. A film is one deliverable for one context. A Story System takes the same shoot and plans it so the story also works as short cuts, vertical clips, and a silent event loop. You choose based on where the story needs to live.
Sometimes. If the footage was framed with cutdowns in mind, yes. If not, I will tell you honestly what the existing material can carry and what would need a short additional shoot.
Not sure which format fits?
Let’s talk. I’ll help you figure out the best storytelling approach for your goals.
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