Helena van der Meulen

Helena van der Meulen is a Dutch screenwriter, film critic and TV writer. She has won the Golden Calf Award for Best Screenplay for Joy.

Biography

Helena van der Meulen studied philosophy and film at the University of Amsterdam. During her studies, van der Meulen wrote film reviews for the Dutch film magazine Skrien. In September 1991, she was the head of publicity at the Dutch Film Museum.

Her latest film Zurich (2015), directed by Sacha Polak – with whom van der Meulen collaborated on Hemel (2012) – has received generally positive reviews despite a lack of international recognition.

Themes and style

Van der Meulen states that her films are about “characters who have to survive on their own and are trying to find out who they are, while yearning for human contact”. She emphasizes character development rather than plot. Van der Meulen generally avoids feedback and “interference” while writing.

Selected filmography Tot Ziens (1995) Fl. 19,99 (1998) Tussenland (2002) Bluebird (2004) Het Zusje (2007) Joy (2010) Zurich (2015)