Born in 1964 at Doorwerth Castle, Brenninkmeijer graduated from the Dutch Film Academy in 1992 with his short film "Rerun." He immediately started as the head editor on the award-winning AVRO series "Pleidooi." He directed many series for IDtv, such as "12 Steden, 13 Ongelukken," "Voor Hete Vuren," and "’t Zal je Gebeuren." In 2000, he directed the award-winning series "Westenwind" and the Telefilm "De Stilte van het Naderen" (EO), which received the ICVM Golden Crown Award in America. In 2001, he started his company BrennFilm and made the feature film "Swingers" in 2002. In 2011, he followed with the neo-noir thriller "Caged." In 2013, the "Entertainment Experience" won an International Emmy Award, where his film "Lotgenoten" played a key role. Since 2014, he has been making short films to support new talent.

What impacted you the most during the filming?

Almanac consists of several short films, so each one brings different motivations and memories. "The Knock on the Door" is the most personal of these films. I was once asked by a good friend to become a donor father, helping her fulfill her wish to have a child. This decision wasn't taken lightly, and the considerations I had at that time were incorporated into the film. Directing those scenes was, of course, a very personal experience.

What do you want to achieve with this film?

In my youth and later adolescence, I was often the boy whom girls saw as a "brother," a friend, and a sounding board. This shaped me and gave me a different perspective. The call for equal opportunities for women is sometimes drowned out by the loudness of activism. Not everyone agrees with erasing traditional and biological differences. Therefore, I feel in the right place to show that a man, with all his "manly" traits, can give women in stories and films an equal character, while embracing the differences. I want to elevate women without degrading men. Especially in this time, I want to offer an alternative response to a current societal issue.

What have you learned from it?

In every story I put to film, I encounter my own (pre)judices that I sometimes need to adjust. Although this isn't always easy, I see it as my duty as a director and storyteller to be open to change, even in my own insights. Art needs to challenge. David Bowie once said it well: "If you feel safe in the area you're working in, you're not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water, beyond where you feel safe."