Jesse Bleekemolen
Directing
Biography
Enthusiasm and perseverance characterize the remarkable career of Jesse Bleekemolen (1997). After an internship at production company Eyeworks and a part-time job as a camera operator and production assistant, he decided at the age of fifteen to make his own feature film. Fataal (Fatal) was intended to be a story about the problems a twenty-something faces when he becomes a victim of senseless violence. In a short time, Jesse had already built up a substantial network of professionals who helped him. Jesse approached screenwriter Dick van den Heuvel, who had written several Carry Slee adaptations; cinema distributor Pathé also immediately believed in the project and promised a release of the film. Most of the crew and cast members worked selflessly, and the lighting and sound equipment was largely sponsored. Fatal had its world premiere in November 2016 in the majestic Tuschinski Theatre in Amsterdam and was shown in dozens of cinemas in the weeks that followed. The film received good reviews, and the distribution rights were sold to seventy countries. Jesse subsequently developed a school project in collaboration with the cinema chain Pathé to teach teenagers about the consequences of senseless violence. The musical rights to Fataal were also sold. Since then, Jesse has developed various film and documentary productions as a director. In late 2020, the release of his Videoland film Leef received a great deal of attention. In it, athlete Bibian Mentel candidly shows how, even after countless surgeries and radiation treatments, she refuses to let cancer define her life. In 2023, Jesse launched the first TikTok-based documentary series called ‘Geen Hokje Voor Ons’ (No Labels For Us). As a second unit director, Jesse has collaborated extensively with Gooische Vrouwen director Will Koopman over the past few years. Among other projects, he assisted her on the set of the hit series Oogappels and the cinematic success April, May en June. Additionally, he was involved for a long time in the development of new projects for ITV Studios Netherlands Drama.
Known For
An anthology series of six stories set in and around Rotterdam Central Railway Station.
Centraal
The twin brothers Peter Anema and Erik Hulsegge did not know about each other's existence for 17 years. Why were they separated upon adoption?
Peter and Erik
Rikkie Kollé will be the first trans woman to be crowned Miss Netherlands in July 2023. In addition to praise, 22-year-old Rikkie receives a remarkable amount of misunderstanding and hate reactions about herself. Fortunately, they have only strengthened her mission even more: being an example for young trans people and normalizing gender diversity. In a unique documentary, Miss Netherlands is followed on her way to the world stage in El Salvador where she is making a bid for the title of Miss Universe, with all the work, obligations and preparations that entails.
Rikkie Kollé, the most beautiful woman in the Netherlands
Milan and Sophie are two twentysomethings who want to marry and have children. Milan has ambitious plans for opening a dance club. After hard work, it seems to be a success. But one day, after getting beat up, Milan is told that he will never walk again. His world collapses and not just his...
Fatal
In the first VPRO TikTok-based documentary series Geen hoekje voor ons (No Labels for Us), five young people define their own gender. Boy, girl, both, or neither: they decide for themselves who they are and how they want to go through life. In each episode, one of them is followed during an important step in his/her/their life. A step that contributes to who they are and how they want to express themselves.
No labels for us!
When Peter is 17, he accidentally discovers that he has a twin brother. Peter and Erik were placed for adoption after their birth. Why did this happen? The twin brothers investigate why they were adopted after their birth. Were they part of a social experiment?
Peter en Erik
Do you need drugs to have ecstatic sex? The documentary F*CK DRUGS explores (group) sex under the influence of drugs, a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common among queer men. The film follows Davo (22), Anthony (35), and Erik (61) and shows how they explore and push their boundaries further and further within the world of chemsex. Is it about boundless pleasure and sexual freedom, or rather about inner emptiness and the fear of true intimacy in a time of individualism and increasing loneliness? The documentary examines the world of chemsex in a liberating, honest, and ecstatic, but also critical and confrontational way. In doing so, the film poses the question: is there a way back after sex under the influence of drugs?
F*CK DRUGS
Cheating together. That is how people describe the phenomenon of ‘swinging’. But is that really the case? Anyone who opens a conversation about swinging immediately encounters many prejudices. Swingers? They have sex with anyone and everyone, in an unsafe atmosphere, with unsavory types and withered bodies. And their relationship? Things simply can't go well with that. Fueled by ignorance, people fill an unknown world with stigmatizing fantasies – and thus a taboo is perpetuated. A shame, because according to swingers themselves, things are very different. Driven by curiosity, they explore the boundaries of monogamy. Never alone, but always together. Once a year, monthly, or every week. On a sunny island, in a hotel, on the internet, at home, or in the club. Director Jesse Bleekemolen dives into the world of swingers. With a look of wonder, he meets various couples who engage in swinging and are willing to share their vulnerabilities.
Cheating together
In the docuseries *Nog één week* (One More Week), we follow children in the run-up to a major event that will change their lives. Each episode focuses on one of the children, following him or her in their daily life during the week leading up to the exciting event. Together with parents and friends, they look forward to it. Sometimes it is fun, sometimes exciting, sometimes sad, sometimes difficult. How do they cope? What do they find difficult, and what do they not? In this way, you see that every child experiences something in his or her own way.
One more week
The 26-year-old Joes came to the rescue of Yiannis in 1996 because he was mistreated, but had to pay for it himself. Yiannis and Jan, the father of Joes, meet each other after more than 20 years in that particular place.
Levenslang
Muscular, single men with a lustful gaze having sex with wealthy, middle-aged women. That is the stereotypical image of a gigolo. In this documentary, we debunk the prejudices about gigolos and their clients. We break the taboo. Jesse Bleekemolen follows three different gigolos who work as high-class male escorts alongside their full-time jobs.
GIGOLO
48-year-old former snowboarder Bibian Mentel has been living with cancer for 21 years, received the bad news no less than fourteen times that the cancer was back. The result: one leg amputation, five lung operations, three neck operations, four back operations and 74 radiation treatments. In March 2019 she ended up in a wheelchair due to one of the back operations. Despite all the operations and radiation treatments, there are still numerous metastases in her body. Although the situation seems worrying and hopeless, Bibian and her family refuse to let that rotten disease determine everything. Documentary maker Jesse Bleekemolen (22 years old) followed Bibian for a year with a very intimate portrait as a result of fighting spirit and her dance with death.