Renée Scheltema (born 1951) is a Dutch documentary filmmaker, living in Cape Town, South Africa. She has been making documentaries for 25 years.
After her Doctorandus degree in Criminology in 1974, she got her Masters at 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 sustainable development and the protection of the environment. She has been director, producer, cameraperson and editor.
Her art-series “Canvas Extreme”, of 7 x 30' minute portraits of contemporary cutting edge artists in South Africa, was sold to TV stations in France, Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, and Holland.
In the past few years she filmed for a Dutch Public Broadcasting station, documentaries like: Happy in Zimbabwe?; Portrait of a Zen couple; "Een Gezelig Gesprek", Portrait of Nicolaas Pierson.
Renée's last feature documentary: "Something Unknown Is Doing We Don't Know What" has received the "Special Jury Award" at the International Arizona Film Festival in 2009. This film investigates the science behind psychic experiences, featuring top scientists in the US. Watch the trailer at: http://www.somethingunknown.com
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). Exhibition: "More than Clogs and Tulips", A unique collection of photographic prints of Theo Van Gogh. 2008. Presented by the Dutch Consulate in Cape Town.