Hemel

Director

Sacha Polak
1982 Born in Amsterdam
2006 Completed her studies at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam with her short film "Teer"
2009 Director training at the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam
2012 "Hemel" is her first feature-length film

Filmography
2015: "Zurich"
2013: "New Boobs"
2012: "Broer"
2012: "Hemel"
2008: "Onder de tafel"
2008: "Drang"
2007: "El mourabbi"
2006: "Teer"



Sacha Polak about her main character Hemel

Hemel is a young woman who throws herself into the future with tremendous vehemence. Her fear is always defeated by curiosity. She can be very irritating and often terribly self-centered. Even when everything goes wrong, she just keeps pushing forward. She lives completely for the moment. Hemel represents our present. She has everything she needs to achieve her goals, but at the moment she is not studying, she is taking a year off. She uses men to find herself. She is the one who seduces men, not the other way around. She signals whether she wants someone or not. She pushes herself to the limit, hoping to find out who she is.

Sacha Polak about her leading actress

Hannah Hoekstra recently completed her acting training in Amsterdam. I saw her at an audition and knew immediately that she should play the role of Hemel. The reasons for this are difficult to explain. Her head wobbled a bit strangely and she moved me. It sounds strange, I know, but it's true. I find it amazing how unreservedly Hannah gave herself to her role: She's revealing her soul.