VDFF Programme for Kids  

“Listen“ presents a cross-section of conversations between children and the Kindertelefoon (Child helpline). One girl talks about being home alone virtually all week; another’s sad because her parents are getting divorced. A boy in an asylum seekers’ center is worried about the future, while another boy doesn’t want to be gay and hopes these feelings will pass. Every day, the Kindertelefoon takes calls like these from children who want someone to talk to. But children also call to talk about their pets, to practice their audition for “The Voice Kids” or to make pranks. The recordings of these phone conversations are accompanied by images that quite literally give color to the conversations, and that beautifully reflect their tone – sometimes hilarious or naughty, but more often sad or heartrending.

Astrid Bussink (1975) was born in Netherlands where she studied fine art at the AKI Academy of Fine Arts in Enschede. After that she studied film at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. “The Lost Colony” (2008) was her first feature-length film.

Selected Filmography

Esther, 2016
180, 2009
I Shot the Mayor, 2007
The 9 Lives of My Car, 2006