Out

Tom (19) has social anxiety, and within the tiny, conservative Dutch village where he lives, he is considered a social outcast and a nuisance. In addition, his ambition to become a filmmaker is frowned upon. Luckily, he has Ajani (19), with whom he shares a passion for filmmaking and a secret relationship. They dream of a life together as filmmakers in the big city. When they both get accepted to the Amsterdam Film School, they are more than ready for the big change and leave the countryside behind. While Ajani starts to make friends on the Amsterdam queer scene, he sees Tom finding it hard to shake off his anxiety and the hostile attitude he holds towards his surroundings. As Ajani changes, Tom tries to deal with this and is also forced to face his personal limitations. Where does he stand in life? And will he be able to hang onto his dream with his boyfriend?

  • Dennis Alink
    Director
    Unknown Brood, Sluizer Speaks
  • Dennis Alink
    Writer
  • Thomas van der Gronde
    Writer
  • Dennis Alink
    Producer
  • Thomas van der Gronde
    Producer
  • Bas Keizer
    Key Cast
    "Tom"
    Cobain
  • Jefferson Yaw Frempong Manson
    Key Cast
  • Bram Agterbos
    Key Cast
    "Jeroen"
  • Fjodor Jozefzoon
    Key Cast
    "Fernando"
    El Houb, Obesk
  • Robbert Rodenburg
    Key Cast
    "Julian"
  • Henry Van Loon
    Key Cast
    "Zen"
    Knor, Goin' Rectal
  • Victor Low
    Key Cast
    "Arthur"
    Character, Antonia's Line
  • Ambassade
    Music
  • Luuk Hoogstraten
    Sound Design
    Becoming Mona, Narcosis
  • Zita Leemans
    Sound Design
    Kiddo, The Girl Who Was Cursed
  • Thomas van der Gronde NSC
    Cinematography
    Unknown Brood, Freek
  • Bobbie Roelofs
    Edit
    Unknown Brood, De Rode Ziel
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, coming of age
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 35 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 12, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany, Netherlands
  • Language:
    Dutch
  • Shooting Format:
    6K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Dennis Alink

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 theatres.

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 also 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 got nominated for Best Feature Length Documentary on 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 he 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 works on short and commercial movies for clients like ESPN and the European Union.

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Director Statement

OUT is a deeply personal film about struggling with group norms. On the one hand; growing up queer makes you an outsider in the country-side, but once you have moved to queerfriendly surroundings you can find yourself in a whole new scene with new expectations on your look and behavior. How do you settle into a group when there are strong social and physical rules? I’ve met a lot of gay-men who struggle with peer pressure from within the gayscene. On the other hand, I also try to discover with OUT in what sense being put into the role of an outsider by others can make you identify as an outsider and internalize that? What control do we have on our identity? And what prize should you pay to be true to it?

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.