Filmmaker, festival programmer.
Gideon lives in the Netherlands and works as a writer-director on various fiction projects, commercials and music videos. He is a mentor in the Raindance MA Programme and teaches filmmaking at InHolland University of Technology.
Gideon van Eeden is a South African former television actor and theatre creator. After emigrating to the Netherlands in 2008 he has worked as a festival programmer and filmmaker for a variety of clients such as Toyota, The Dutch Performing Arts Council, South African Tourism and several advertising agencies.
He has recently narrowed his focus to narrative fiction. His films have been selected by numerous Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying festivals and have received more than 20 international awards. His short film Bijltjesdag (Day of Reckoning) has screened at more than 30 festivals around the world, and marks his debut as a director of narrative fiction. The film won Best Student Film at the Kerry International Film Festival in Ireland.
His second short film, The Apricot Tree was selected for PöFF Shorts and nominated for Best Student Film at the Norwich Film Festival. Both productions were made as part of his studies in screenwriting and directing with the Raindance MA Programme, which he completed with distinction in 2018. His third film, God Glitch, is an award winning sci-fi short that screened at FilmQuest and the Leeds International Film Festival. Next in the production pipeline is Entgen Luyten’s Executioner – a gritty historical thriller; green- lit by the Limburg Film Fund and Cinesud. He is in development with 3:42AM – a horror web-series and his first feature, a psychological horror: Darkness and Voices. Both are written by his long time collaborator and fellow Raindance alumnus Peter Stead.
Qualifications
Master’s Degree in Screenwriting & Directing (Narrative Fiction). Graduated Cum Laude (2018) - Staffordshire University / Raindance MA Programme, UK.
Certificate in Camera Journalism (2010) - Open Studio, Amsterdam, NL.
Bachelor in Theatre & Television (2004) - Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, RSA.
Skills
Languages: English (native), Dutch (proficient), Afrikaans (native, mother tongue).
Pre-Production: Concept & Vision Development, Script Analysis & Coaching, Shot-lists, Location Scouting.
Production: Directing, Assistant Director, 2nd Unit Director.
Post-Production: Editing, Supervision, Final Cut Pro (proficient), Final Cut X (proficient), Adobe Premiere Pro (proficient), Adobe Photoshop (basic).
Creative: Copywriting and Prose.
Academic: Research, Mentoring, Coaching, Pedagogy, Management & Leadership, Curriculum & Syllabus Design & Revision, Motivational & Public Speaking.
Other Activities
Gideon has a passion for wildlife and partakes in various conservation and anti-poaching activities when his filmmaking schedule allows. He has toured Southern Africa extensively in this context. He believes profound insights can be gained from solitude in the wild. He is an amateur runner and privately spiritual, with an interest in the esoteric ∴