About

Chris Westendorp started as a documentary film maker before she got into screenwriting. She graduated from the Dutch Film and Television Academy in 2001 with the documentary Westwood Loves You. With this film she won, among others, the Prins Bernard Culture Prize. After that she made several documentaries for the Dutch Public Broadcasters.

Westendorp started writing immediately after her graduation. She wrote two 45-minutes scripts (with Motel, now Topkapi) and worked on various popular television-series as Godforsaken: Bitch Fight, Cops (both Pupkin Film), Goodevening Ladies and Gentlemen and Penoza (both NL Film). Westendorp was head writer on the final season of this Dutch hit-serie Penoza, a serie with five remakes in various countries. Together with co-writer Jaap Peter Enderlé she wrote the childrens tv-series Seven Little Criminals that was rewarded with the Golden Calf for best tv-series of the year. It was the first time that a series for youth won the Calf for best tv-series.

Westendorp wrote three feature-length films. Together with Jaap Peter Enderlé she wrote Boys. This film has won numerous prizes on various festivals around the world.
Next to that, she wrote Confetti Harvest. This film was nominated for the Crystal Bear at the Berlinale 2015 and has toured the festival circuit after that and won several prizes.
Her third feature, Hemelrijken, was the best watched “televfilm” of 2019.
In the summer of 2021 her latest film Mnk Boy will be shot in Istanbul, Turkey.

Together with Ester Gould and Sarah Sylbing, Westendorp worked on the prize winning-documentary-series Debt Society. Debt Society has won numerous prices, when it came out.In november 2020 their newest series will be broadcasted: Klasse. This is a tv series of seven episodes about education in the Dutch System.

At this moment Chris Westendorp works on the tv-series De Life with Giancarlo Sanchez.

Chris loves to work on various different themes, this can be queer (Boys), coming of age (Confetti Harvest), crime (Penoza, Bitch Fight) or Social Injustice (Debt Society, Seven Little Criminals). Whatever it is, Chris will always invest in the human aspect of the story in order to give the film a warm and human touch.

Chris is a member of the Dutch Academy For Film (DAFF) and the European Film Academy (EFA). Selection committee Media Fund 2011 – 2015 / Writer for Dutch Directors Guild for four years / Teacher at Dutch Film Academy and at the University of Amsterdam, Media and Culture, since 2009 / Committee member of the Netwerk Scenario, the Dutch writers guild, since 2013. Master Classes at Kids & Docs, various tv-programmes (Kennis van Nu (now Focus), Andere Tijden, Andere Tijden Sport, Meestervertellers, Impact. Reader at the Cine Kid Lab. Workshop coach at the Cine Kid Lab Sessions in Berlin.

PRICES AND NOMINATIONS

Heart of a Fighter / Vechtershart Season: 1TV Serie
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Gouden TV Beeld Regie Gouden TV Beeld Script
Penoza Season 4:TV Serie
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Nomination Televisier Ring 2016 
Debt Society / Schuldig:TV Serie
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Zilveren Nipkowschijf 2017 Gouden TV Beelden televisieserie 2017 Tegel 2017, Journalisten vh Jaar 2017 DDG Award 2017 
Confetti Harvest / Dorsvloer vol ConfettiFilm
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2014 Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth: International Expert Jury for European First Films: The Europe Award (2015) Berlijn Film Festival Nominatie: Crystal Bear – Generation K-plus Best Film (2015)
Seven Little Criminals:TV Serie
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Golden Calf best tv-production 2019,Cinekid Price best tv-series;
Penoza 5: TV Serie
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Nomination Kees Holierhoek Scenarioprijs 2019 for Best Dutch Scripts for tv-series 2017/2018;
Dealing with Drugs
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Silver in Grands Prix Award in the category Participatory Experience 2019;
Cops/Smeris seizoen 1:TV Serie
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Nomination Zilveren Krulstaat for best scenario 2014 (with the whole team of writers)