Jasper de Maeseneer, who won Gold at the Young Directors Awards (YDA) at Cannes Lions last week, has signed with international production company Hamlet for global representation.
Initially a drama student, de Maeseneer changed direction and studied film at the RITCS School of Arts in Brussels. His graduation film “Shutterspeed” swept through the international festival circuit. In addition to the YDA win, “Shutterspeed” earned the Audience Award at Film Fest Gent, the Grand Prix du Jury at Poitiers, a world premiere at Palm Springs ShortFest, and then took the Ensor for Best Short Film earlier this year.
His training as an actor–being able to really get under the skin of a character before putting a performer in front of a camera–has given an insightful, intimate quality to de Maeseneer’s work as a director.
On gaining representation for spots and branded content via Hamlet, de Maeseneer said, “For me, also stepping into commercial filmmaking isn’t a shift away from fiction, but rather a beautiful synergy between the two. It’s an incredible space to experiment and capture the tangible, emotional essence of lifestyles and brands I genuinely love. When Hamlet approached me, the connection was instant. They truly understand my narrative voice, and I can’t wait to bring that into the commercial world with them.”
Jason Felstead, co-founder and executive producer at Hamlet, added, ”Jasper’s personality lives in the emotion of his work. He puts actors at ease, has a sharp eye for aesthetics, and pulls color palette, visuals and performance together into one vision. That’s the director he is, and it’s exactly what we look for at Hamlet. I can’t wait to see where his work takes us.”
Hamlet maintains operations in Brussels, Berlin, Shanghai and Paris.
