Private Project

Chasing the Sun

A young family travels to the countryside of Groningen for a holiday. The trip is meant to bring both parents and daughter closer together, but when Alexander spirals into a web of his own imaginations, he is left with only one way out of the mess he has created.

  • Andrew van der Ven
    Director
    Sunny Juliette, Happy Birthday
  • Andrew van der Ven
    Writer
  • Didi Spaans
    Producer
    Sunny Juliette, Wanderers
  • Andrew van der Ven
    Producer
  • Sjors Wijlhuizen
    Key Cast
    "Alexander"
    The Crucible
  • Marloes ten Kate
    Key Cast
    "Emily"
    Sunny Juliette, De Achtertuinen van Groningen
  • Maud Swinkels
    Key Cast
    "Ivy"
    Ciske de Rat de musical
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Chasing the Sun
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Adventure
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 31, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Country of Filming:
    Netherlands
  • Language:
    Dutch
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Première
    The Hague
    Netherlands
    February 7, 2018
    Dutch première
Director Biography - Andrew van der Ven

Andrew van der Ven is a Dutch film director, writer and producer. In 2011, he moved to Brussels where he attended film school at the LUCA School of Arts (formerly known as St. Lucas). After film school, Andrew went to study film at Leiden University and Utrecht University in The Netherlands. Over the years, he made several short films and worked mostly on commercial video projects. His first feature film was Sunny Juliette (2017).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

It is an annoyance to me that has only increased in recent years. It seems as if one’s online representation became much more important than the offline representation. A perfect profile picture, overwhelming stories about great journeys to the end of the world and the large amount of 'likes' and ‘shares' are the only things people seem to care about. I would much rather discover who the individual is behind the profile picture.

The idea behind Chasing the Sun came about during the filming of my feature film Sunny Juliette. I am a big fan of short films preceding the main feature and I wanted to make such a short film for Sunny Juliette. In the end, however, I did not succeed in keeping it short. I thought the film would never exceed the six minutes. Chasing the Sun now is a little bit over 17 minutes long. The story could absolutely not be told in a shorter timeframe than this - and I have already had to sacrifice a lot.

Chasing the Sun was created by the team that also worked on Sunny Juliette. What really differs, is the casting. I decided to work with a completely different cast that would better fit the story. It is unbelievable what this team can achieve in just a few days. Chasing the Sun is in fact made in the time that Sunny Juliette was in the post-production phase. We started filming in the midst of one of the most hectic periods of film production, and that alone is an achievement. Despite the fact that it was once meant to be a short pre-film of Sunny Juliette, Chasing the Sun can also be viewed as a stand-alone film. The observant viewer may find 'easter eggs'; references to Sunny Juliette.

Chasing the Sun is set on the boundary between reality and fiction. Between truth and lie. Between fear and love.