Sven Bresser's debut film, Reedland, is a slow-paced, tense thriller set in a small Dutch rural community where the murder of a girl shakes up the lives of the locals. The story centers on Johan, a veteran reed cutter and caring grandfather. The film's atmosphere is set in the Weerribben-Wieden landscape, where the mysterious whispering of the reeds gives voice to the anxiety and secrets hidden in the community.

The lead role, played by Gerrit Knobbe, is not a professional actor, but a real reed cutter, giving an authentic, powerful performance that highlights Bresser's talent for character exploration and actors instructions. The visual style of Reedland is influenced by Bergman, Haneke and Vinterberg, while the labyrinthine depiction of the reeds is reminiscent of Kaneto Shindō's Onibaba. The film's short running time, dense atmosphere, and somber subject matter make it a true work made for the big screen, a carefully composed, tense, visually strong, character-driven thriller that examines the effects of crime, grief, and loneliness in a rural community.

Q&A with director Sven Bresser after the screening.

The screening was made possible with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Cannes Film Festival 2025 - Critics' Week

Sven Bresser is a filmmaker based in Amsterdam. His first short film L’été et tout le reste premiered in the official selection of the 75th Venice International Film Festival, was selected at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Dutch Academy Award for Best Short film. That same year, his TV film Free Fight was nominated for two Dutch Academy Awards. After finishing the mid-length film She used to sing here in 2021, he started working on his feature film Reedland which will premiere at the 2025 Cannes Critics' Week: a story set in the same rural landscape he grew up in himself.

Free Fight (2018) - short
L’été et tout le reste (2018) - short
She used to sing here (2021) - short

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Director: Sven Besser
Cast: Gerrit Knobbe, Loïs Reinders
Cinematography: Sam du Pon
Screenwriter: Sven Bresser
Producer: Marleen Slot
Editor: Lot Rossmark
Music: Mitchel van Dinther, Lyckle de Jong
Hungarian Distributor: -
Colour: colour
Run time: 111 mins

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