DOOF

With a very mixed background in gymnastics, mathematics, business economics, and marketing, driven by a wide range of interests, Benn began teaching at schools and writing early for newspapers, magazines, and a book for Reed Elsevier. His TV sketches were used by comedians, featured in Dutch TV-programs (Bod Rooyens Production, VARA and AVRO broadcasters) and on stage, and his cartoons were published in newspapers. However, his career shifted toward marketing and communication, starting at 3M Company and Volkswagen.

This path eventually led him to start his own agency, Florad Marketing, in the Dutch holiday region of Zeeland, with clients from all corners of leisure, banking, industry, and government. Small in size—never more than five employees—this inevitably gave him personal experience not only in overarching marketing concepts but also in creative details.

When Benn closed his agency about ten years ago, he returned to writing and screenwriting, producing Dutch books and English screenplays. Most of his awards and (semi)finalist rankings came from his English scripts (Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, Cannes, Rome), seeing writing as his “core business.” Some of his short stories were adapted into short films in the Netherlands, France, and Italy, occasionally winning awards at smaller film festivals.

In addition, Benn and his agency, Florad Fantasy, produced films themselves with a group of friends—not only to learn more about the craft but also to see his writing come to life. This also led to a few wins at Cannes, St. Petersburg, and Barcelona. he feature film Garden of Eden is part of Amazon Prime’s VOD program in the US and UK.

Today, the creative challenge takes precedence over the commercial side of Benn’s work. For him, now it’s mostly fun—like a blessing—“like enjoying sport at a challenging level” (oops, playing soccer), never limited by age.