An interactive session exploring the collaboration between composers, directors, editors and producers, and where that collaboration truly comes to life. Directors often speak in terms of feeling, story and imagery (“less cheerful”, “more tension”, “a bit more blue”), while composers think in sound, structure and musical language. Is that difference in language a problem? Not at all. It’s exactly where the composer’s value becomes most apparent.
In this session, we make that translation process visible. Through relatable scenes and real-world examples, we explore how composers can interpret, question and translate abstract feedback into concrete musical choices. What questions should you ask? When do you follow, and when do you challenge? And how do you ensure that you’re not just executing ideas, but actively contributing to the storytelling? We’ll dive into the creative tension between image and sound: because it’s often within that friction that the most compelling work emerges. The result: stronger collaboration, more confidence in the creative process, and music that doesn’t just support the story, but elevates it.
Maarten Ernest
Film Editor, Studio Galácticos, NLAfter graduating from the Film Academy in 2016, Maarten Ernest began working as an editor, gaining experience across short films, fiction and documentary series, commercials, music videos, and feature films. Since January 2024, he has been based at the Piet Heinkade in Amsterdam, where he shares a studio with Fatih, alongside sound designer Regard Ibrahim and editor Yamal Stitou. Notable projects include feature films such as Dit Is Geen Kerstfilm (2024), Straf (2025), Vakkenvullers XL (2026), Melk (2024), and documentaries such as Boef (2020), What’s Left (2022), and Goldband: Tot We Breken (2025).
Rui Reis Maia
Composer, NLRui Reis Maia is a Portuguese-Dutch film composer, producer, and multidisciplinary artist based between Portugal and Amsterdam. Growing up in Amsterdam’s South-East, he was shaped by a mix of hip-hop culture and his father’s record collection, filled with artists like Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, and Paul Simon. In 2020, Rui won the Golden Calf for Best Music for The Promise of Pisa, his first film score. Alongside film and television, Rui releases personal music where he blends electronic textures with acoustic instrumentation. His work balances contrasts, dark and light, minimal and orchestral, intimate and cinematic.
Michael Middelkoop
Film director, Juicy Films, NLMichael Middelkoop is an Amsterdam based writer, director and creative producer working across film and advertising. Raised by a Dutch mom and Congolese dad, he was brought up on a diet of Motown soul, the Wu-Tang Clan, Cartoon Network and Eddie Murphy’s seminal Coming to America. After studying Film Studies at the University of Amsterdam, he created campaigns for brands including Adidas, Tele2, Lego and Asics. His feature film ‘Dit Is Geen Kerstfilm’, won 3 Gouden Kalveren (Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor) and continues to place him as one of the most relevant names in the Dutch advertising and film scene.
Sandy Seifert
Curator, programmer, actor, NLSandy Seifert is a program maker, curator, actor and moderator. Sandy works as a freelancer for various film festivals and is a program maker and editor at Stichting Vrouwen in Beeld.