Out
"Capturing the recklessness of youth and the excitement of newfound sexual liberties in sensuous black-and-white cinematography, Dennis Alink’s Out offers up a vivid and tender tale of being young and gay. Tom (Bas Keizer, in a star-making performance) and Ajani (an effervescent Jefferson Yaw Frempong-Manson) are closeted secondary school sweethearts who yearn for life outside of their small-minded, rural community in the Netherlands. Their solution is Amsterdam, where the queer scene is thriving and they can work at their dreams of becoming filmmakers. Quickly falling into the Dutch capital’s gay nightlife offers the pair some initial thrills: cheeky games of Never Have I Ever, limo rides across the city, eye-opening trips to the bathhouse. But the challenges quickly follow, pushing them to separately question: “Who am I, and where do I fit in?”
Recalling such classic monochromatic films about wayward youth as The Last Picture Show and Gus Van Sant’s Mala Noche, Alink and his queer collaborators present a lived-in, piercing portrait that proves coming out isn’t just a pronouncement of one’s sexuality, it’s a simultaneously joyous and heartbreaking journey of self-discovery."
Written by Joshua Ray,
Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival
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Dennis AlinkDirectorUnknown Brood, Sluizer Speaks
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Dennis AlinkWriter
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Thomas van der GrondeWriter
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Dennis AlinkProducer
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Thomas van der GrondeProducer
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Bas KeizerKey Cast"Tom"Cobain
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Jefferson Yaw Frempong MansonKey Cast
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Bram AgterbosKey Cast"Jeroen"
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Fjodor JozefzoonKey Cast"Fernando"El Houb, Obesk
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Robbert RodenburgKey Cast"Julian"
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Henry Van LoonKey Cast"Zen"Knor, Goin' Rectal
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Victor LowKey Cast"Arthur"Character, Antonia's Line
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AmbassadeMusic
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Luuk HoogstratenSound DesignBecoming Mona, Narcosis
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Zita LeemansSound DesignKiddo, The Girl Who Was Cursed
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Thomas van der Gronde NSCCinematographyUnknown Brood, Freek
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Bobbie RoelofsEditUnknown Brood, De Rode Ziel
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:Drama, coming of age
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Runtime:1 hour 35 minutes
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Completion Date:October 24, 2023
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Production Budget:800,000 EUR
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Country of Origin:Netherlands
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Country of Filming:Germany, Netherlands
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Language:Dutch
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Shooting Format:6K
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Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
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Film Color:Black & White
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Frameline San FranciscoSan Francisco
United States -
Newfest New YorkNew York
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New Orleans Film FestivalNew Orleans
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Chicago ReelingChicago
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Film by the SeaVlissingen
Netherlands -
Chéries ChérisParis
France -
OutshineFort Lauderdale
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Seattle QueerSeattle
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Vilnius Queer KreivesVilnius
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Image + Nation MontrealMontreal
Canada -
Taiwan International Queer Festival
Distribution Information
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CinemienDistributorCountry: NetherlandsRights: All RightsCountry: BelgiumRights: All RightsCountry: GermanyRights: All RightsCountry: SwitzerlandRights: All RightsCountry: AustriaRights: All RightsCountry: SpainRights: All RightsCountry: United KingdomRights: All RightsCountry: IrelandRights: All RightsCountry: PolandRights: All RightsCountry: PortugalRights: All RightsCountry: ItalyRights: All RightsCountry: NorwayRights: All RightsCountry: FinlandRights: All RightsCountry: SwedenRights: All RightsCountry: IsraelRights: All RightsCountry: LiechtensteinRights: All Rights
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DarkstarDistributorCountry: United StatesRights: All Rights
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OptimaleDistributorCountry: FranceRights: All Rights
Dennis Alink (1989) is an Amsterdam based filmmaker who works in both documentary and fiction. His feature length documentary debut SLUIZER SPEAKS (2014) premiered at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and tells the story of Dutch director George Sluizer in his final days. The film was screened at several festivals and got a short theatrical run in Dutch arthouse theaters.
His second documentary UNKNOWN BROOD (2016), also premiered at IDFA and got nominated in the Dutch competition and Music competition. It had a successful run in Dutch cinemas, on DVD and VOD and on Dutch and Belgian national television. In 2017 the film was nominated for two Los Angeles Film Awards (Best Director and Best Cinematographer). The film tells the story of Dutch painter and rock ‘n roll star Herman Brood and features interviews with Anton Corbijn, Nina Hagen and Black Francis (Pixies).
In 2018 Dennis released his third documentary GOIN’ RECTAL, which was nominated for Best Feature Length Documentary at the Grand Budapest Film Festival. His fourth feature length documentary FREEK (2019) about Dutch comedian Freek de Jonge had a successful run in both arthouse and commercial cinemas in The Netherlands. Together with Oscar winner Paul Ruven Dennis has published a book about the new generation of Dutch documentary filmmakers funded by the Dutch Film Fund. In between feature films Dennis is often seen on Dutch television as a film expert and directs documentaries for clients like Netflix, ESPN and the European Union.
OUT is a deeply personal film about struggling with group norms. Growing up queer makes you an outsider in the rather conservative country-side, but moving to queer friendly surroundings brings a whole new set of challenges, with new expectations of your looks and behavior. I have met a lot of gay men who struggle with this peer pressure from within the gayscene. How do you settle into a group with strong social and physical rules that are foreign to you?
In OUT I try to discover in what sense being put into the role of an outsider by others can make you identify as an outsider and internalize that message. What control do we have on our identity? And what prize should you pay to be true to it?
OUT was made with a team of queer filmmakers and actors, and the story, characters, and scenes are based on our own experiences. We have frequently worked together before on documentaries(for theatrical release) and used our Documentary background as a basis for working, keeping the crew to a minimum and scouting authentic, already existing locations. This gives the film its authenticity and shifts the focus towards the interpretation and performance of the actors.
We made OUT with a team of queer filmmakers and actors and based the story, characters, and scenes on our own experiences. We team had previously worked together frequently on documentaries for theatrical release and used our Documentary background as a basis for working. The crew was kept to the size of a Documentary crew, and locations were scouted where a large range of props were already in place. This meant that the film would feel more authentic and shifted the focus towards the interpretation and performance of the actors.