Niels Putman

Have you worked as a programmer or curator before? If yes, where?

I’ve been affiliated with Leuven International Short Film Festival for a few years, as part of their selection committee. Next to that, I’m also programming the short films for the queer short film festival PinX in Ghent, Belgium. Recently, I’ve joined the selection committee of Film Fest Gent for both the feature and short films. And I’ve curated guest programmes for Quebec City Film Festival, Filmfest Dresden and Short Waves Festival.

What will you look for when selecting films? 

Any form of artistic voice, however frail it might still be. Beyond that: anything that gets me excited, moved or appalled even. 

What is your favourite animated character, what is your favourite animated film? 

Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa (2015) are definitely up there among my favourites. But I’m a huge fan of Cheng-Hsu Chung, Boris Labbé’s and Joung Yu-mi’s short work as well. To reply to the first question: I do have a doll of Dory from Finding Nemo lying around somewhere - no further comments.

What are you looking forward to discovering during the selection? 

New artistic voices.

What is your favourite cinema snack? 

Pistachios.