Hi! My name is Merlijn. I graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy with a bachelor in Screenwriting and specialize in writing animation for mature audiences. The genres I feel most at home with are dark fantasy and magical realism, but I’m adaptable and can write in different styles if the story calls for it. After completing my bachelor, I moved to Denmark to follow a course on classical drawing, supported by a VSB Fonds scholarship. From January 2024, I will partake in the artist residency program Open Workshop, which is connected to The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. There, I will work on my directorial debut Behind My Skin.

The films that I write are often very intimate and sensitive. I write from my own experiences and like to work with visual metaphors to give a face to emotions that would otherwise remain invisible. As a collaborator, I intend to explore the emotional core that binds creators to their work. I want to understand where their ideas are coming from, so that I can translate them into stories that feel authentic and that resonate.