Iris Lammertsma

Iris Lammertsma (born 1968) is a Dutch film producer specialising in documentaries. She co-owns and produces at Witfilm, a production company based in the Netherlands, and serves as chair of the Netherlands Audiovisual Producers Alliance (NAPA).

Lammertsma began her career as artistic director of the dance production house De Kazerne, which she founded in 1991 and led for twenty years, overseeing more than sixty national and international productions. Since 2011, she has worked at Witfilm alongside Boudewijn Koole, producing both fiction and documentary films in the Netherlands and internationally. Her productions have received numerous awards, including an International Emmy Award for the documentary Dance or Die in 2019.^[1]

Biography

Iris Lammertsma studied ballet at the Codarts University of the Arts. In 1991, she founded the dance production house De Kazerne.^[2] Over the years, she shifted her focus from choreography to directing and specialized in developing site-specific theatre. Lammertsma served as artistic director of De Kazerne for twenty years and was responsible for numerous theatre, location, and dance projects. In addition, she fulfilled the role of managing director. Under her leadership, more than sixty national and international productions and projects were realized.^[3]

Witfilm

Since 2011, Lammertsma has been co-owner and producer at Witfilm, together with Boudewijn Koole. In addition, she is chair of the Netherlands Audiovisual Producers Alliance (NAPA). At Witfilm, she works as a producer on both fiction and documentary projects in the Netherlands and internationally. The productions are characterized by a focus on artistic quality and socially relevant themes.^[3]

In an interview, Lammertsma stated that with the recent addition of fiction, she has found a new challenge: "I had been working as a producer for some time and was ready for the challenge of scaling up."^[4]

Witfilm's productions include, among others, the documentaries Shadow Game, Dance or Die, The Promise, De Keuze van Mijn Vader, Zaatari Djinn, Transit Havana, Breng de Joden Thuis, Inside the Chinese Closet, Battles and Happily Ever After, as well as youth documentaries such as Liefjes and Nieuw, the dance film Off Ground, and the youth documentary series Van Binnen Stroomt Het.

Awards and nominations (selection)

References