Team
Hilde Steenssens
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Hilde Steenssens is founder of vzw Filemon. She also curates for other film initiatives. As pedagogue and youth criminologist, she is convinced of the power of art and film as intermedium to support children and young people in their growth towards world citizens! She ensures that the organization can remain dynamic, qualitative and sustainable.
Anna Bataglia
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Anna studied Film Studies and Visual Culture and then Cultural Management. Now she supports the business side of Filem'On. Her goal at Filem'On is to bring as many young people as possible in contact with other ideas and cultures in order to give them more knowledge and insight about the world and themselves.
Pelin Su Ozdogan
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Pelin is responsible for the Professionals & Audience Development of Filem’On. She loves cinema, contemporary art, children’s media and anything that is located at the intersection of these three. Seeing the glimmer in people’s eyes while watching a film is what makes her tick. One of her biggest dreams is to write a children’s book and adapt it into a film!
Laura Smekens
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Laura leads our public engagement and participatory projects. She earned a master's degree in photography from KASK in Ghent. She believes that art has the power to unite people, inspire reflection, and deepen our understanding of both the world and ourselves. At Filemon, her mission is to ignite a passion for art in young people, fostering a society where creativity and compassion go hand in hand.
Maja Gmur
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Maja oversees communications and promotion at Filem'On. With her passion for languages, animation, vibrant visuals, and Brussels' rich multicultural scene, she is dedicated to bringing Filem'On’s mission to every corner of the city.
SANDRA VERKAART
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Sandra has a background in animation and illustration. She alternates her work time between the art educational organisations MUS-E Belgium, Wisper, WIELS Kets and the DKO. From the year Sandra moved from Utrecht (NL) to Brussels in 2010, she has been involved with Filem'On! She gave film workshops, supervised and coordinated children's juries and was part of the Filem'On film committee! Since 2016, she also helps out with the Young Audience Award (EFA) and is a coach for Filem'On ambassadors.
Djurre van Dijck
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Djurre van Dijck graduated as a director from RITCS in Brussels. In addition to his Print Traffic activities for the festival and his work as a filmmaker, he also works in the education of Brussels. According to him, bringing children into contact with art and culture is a necessity.
STEPHY MAES
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Stephanie Maes is a multidisciplinary filmmaker with a participatory approach. In her work the creative interaction with others is key. Throughout the years she has realized several projects in collaboration with theatre companies, newcomers, young people and local residents, among others. In addition to providing technical support for the festival's audiovisual component, Stephanie has been the proud coordinator of Filem'On's very own reporter's club for years!
Geert Neckebroeck
Ambassadors
The ambassadors are the beating heart of Filem'On. They help think about the concretisation of the festival and annual projects and promote the festival to their age group. For instance, they manage their own 'TikTok' account where they warm up their peers with fun and dynamic social media content. The ambassadors are supervised by a freelance filmmaker from vzw Filemon and meet about twice a month. The ambassadors are teenagers who know the festival and the organisation well and have already worked on several projects.
Héritier Tipo
Ernesto Mortelmans
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I'm Ernesto, I'm 14 years old, and I live in Brussels. I was a judge at the Filem'On film festival in 2021 and have been an ambassador since 2022. I've been living in Brussels recently and feel completely at home here. I'm looking forward to the next festival! See you then!
Iyas
Eva Meersman
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I am Eva, ambassador of the festival. This is my third year as ambassador. For me, film is a way to bring fantasy to life while zooming in on reality. With film, anything is possible and you experience the wildest adventures and most intense feelings. I love acting and dancing, as well as painting, baking, climbing and reading the most adventurous books late into the night. That adventurous side of me resurfaces - and over head down - on any rollercoaster or water slide I can do. I am a multilingual Brussels native and love this fascinating city and the green Jette where I was born. I love to travel to other countries, like Bulgaria, where part of my family lives.
Mirthe Gielen
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A familiar face as a presenter at Filem'On who will be joining as an ambassador from 2023!
Vic Lauwens
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A well-known Filem'On film enthusiast who could be spotted during the multi-day workshops will become an ambassador from 2023!Film commission
A diverse group of people with a wide range of interests make up the 2025 Filem'On film committee. Since not everyone is pictured, meet the full team here: Selia Krasniqi, Begum Lerot, Magdalena Verseckas, Tess Van Deynse, Guus Tijssen, Cyndee Mitchell, Antje van Schelvergem, Zoe Rossetti, Silke Rombaut, Laure Jans, Nicole Versijp, Jacques Muelaka Beya, Sabrina Leruste, Hava Uzueva, Caterina Valitutti, Florence Alardot, Levi Vanderaerden, and Ioanna Giakoumatou.
Nicole Versijp
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Nicole Versijp, Nederbelg in Brussels, amateur film fan with a passion for youth films.
Magdalena Verseckas
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Magdalena Verseckas works at European Disability Forum. Her passion is cinema, books and travelling. She wants to make sure that the young audience can get familiar with topic of disability and inclusion through movies.
tess van deynse
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Tess Van Deynse, Hasselt based, movie watcher who advocates for inclusion of all minorities around the world.
Cyndee Mitchell
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Cyndee, a lifelong cinema fan who watches around 350 films a year. I enjoy exploring international children's films through Filem'On that I wouldn't usually watch.
Selia Krasniqi
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Hi, my name is Selia, and I’m an Animation student at Luca School of Arts. I spent two years on the jury, followed by two years as an ambassador.
Laure Jans
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Laure Jans, Master Communication Sciences and Master Gender and Diversity, passionate about qualitative and inclusive representation on the silver screen.
Silke Rombaut
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I am Silke, a maker of all sorts, a lover of beautiful things, and an enthusiast for both what is and all that’s yet to come. Children and young people are the future. We better show them lots of beautiful things!
Ioanna Giakoumatou
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Film and Audiovisual Arts Educator. Films as perspectives of life is a way of being life long educated human beings. Choosing films to be screened, is a responsibility to teach young people being humans.
Guus Tijssen
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Guus Tijssen, film director with a tendency to tell stories about parent-child relationships and thankfully sponging Filem'ons media to educate myself about this.
Antje Van Schelvergem
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Antje Van Schelvergem, currently working as a communications officer at Voluit vzw. I studied, among other things, Film Studies and Visual Culture, and I still actively and passionately pursue my love for film.
Zoe Rossetti
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My name is Zoe Rossetti I am a receptionist and my Boyfriend also I have always been fascinated by the world of cinema and events and I decided to launch myself this year as a member of the Filemon jury after having been a volunteer 10 years ago.