COOP!-competition 2025

In the COOP!-competition, the focus is on collaborations or ‘COOPerations’ that go beyond financial structures, bringing together craftsmanship and creativity from the Low Countries. A jury will decide which film is awarded the title of ‘Best Co-Production’.

Winner

'Alpha' by Jan-Willem van Ewijk is a moving mountain drama about a father and son mourning their lost loved one together. The film aligns perfectly with the FFO25 theme SUPER NATURAL, thanks to its powerful visual style and the intense dynamic between the two main characters. 'Alpha' will hit theaters later this year and also receives a cash prize of €7,500 for its distributor.

Read the article

The film intensely portrays a father-son relationship that can be both confrontational and painfully relatable. The main characters are two alpha men constantly trying to outdo each other. They push themselves to the limit in their unspoken love for one another, which is accompanied by a great deal of frustration.

Jury

Cindy Godefroi

With a master's degree in Eastern Philology, Cindy Godefroi worked for many years as a sinologist for BRTN (now VRT). She was a theatre programmer at Kopergietery in Ghent and combined her passion for art with volunteer work in Dunkirk and cold-water swimming in the North Sea. Since 2022, she has been the Artistic Director of Theater aan Zee, the annual summer festival for performing arts in Ostend. She is now serving as the chair of the COOP! jury at FFO25.

This year, the audience jury consists of Ann Lauryssens, Kato Delrue, Labhise Allara Mandango Ciratu, Pieter Vierstraete, Stef Roefs, and Stefanie Tirtichnik.