Renée Scheltema

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Renée Scheltema (born 1951) is a Dutch documentary filmmaker, temporarily living with her family in Cape Town, South Africa. She has been making documentaries for 25 years.

After her Doctorandus degree in Criminology in 1974, she received a “Tuition fee Waiver” for the School of Journalism at the University of California in Berkeley. Her main subjects were TV-Journalism and Photo-Journalism.

In 1978, she proceeded to work for Dutch television as a Director for the NOS International Affairs Programme. She was also Assistant Director for two Dutch feature movies. Thereafter she became a freelance documentary filmmaker, working mainly for Dutch TV stations, like the NOS, NCRV, AVRO, Humanistic TV, TROS, VERONICA, IKON, and VPRO. Many documentaries were co-productions with TV and the Dutch Non-governmental organization SNV, focusing on development and the protection of the environment. She has been director, producer, and sometimes also done camerawork.

Her art-series “Canvas Extreme”, of 7, 30 minute portraits of unusual contemporary cutting edge artists in South Africa, was sold to TV stations in France, Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, and Holland.

In the past two years she filmed for the Dutch Buddhist Broadcasting station BOS-TV documentaries like: Happy in Zimbabwe?; Portrait of a Zen couple.

Renée is currently working on a spiritual film, called Soul Safari.

[edit] Festivals

  • Asolo Filmfestval in 2001: “Hush”, a portrait of artist Tracy Payne.
  • Donostia (Spain): “Seven Days in Burma” a coproduction with TV and UNDP and UNESCO ;
  • Monte Carlo: “The Death Penalty”, a coproduction with TV and Amnesty International;
  • Soul Safari
  • WSSD filmfestival 2002: “The Bus”, with WWF-Table Mountain Fund and the Nat. Botanical Gardens in South Africa

[edit] Photography

Renée is also a professional stills-photographer, and has been working for magazines and newspapers in Holland, the USA, and South Africa. She was a member of Gamma Liaison in New York (now called Getty Images).

[edit] Degrees

  • Bachelor of Law. University of Leiden. Netherlands
  • Doctor Criminology. University of Leiden. Netherlands
  • M.A. School of Journalism. University of California. Berkeley.