DINOMAN, 60min,. Spain, Documentary
Directed by Jeroen Stultiens
DINOMAN is an intriguing observation of the life and work of Aart Walen, a Dutch paleo artist and taxidermist who brings dinosaurs back to life. Part adventure story and part character study, the film observes Aart as he works on challenging projects for scientific institutions and museums.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
Generally I like telling stories and alway have my eyes and ears open. I accidentally met the main character and felt he was an intriguing personality with a unique life and career.
So that triggered me to investigate a bit more and eventually make a film centered around this person.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
About 7 years. There were more intense phases and more quite phases obviously. Like a pandemic that kept me from filming for about 2 years.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Adventure and Fossils.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The main character leads a very interesting but also solitary life. He doesn't have a relationship or a secretary or someone helping him. Yet he has quite a serious company working all over the world and sometimes he is traveling for quite some time. As a filmmaker you want to plan ahead (at least a bit) and know where the storyline is going. But he never kept me in the loop or updated about his whereabouts or plans. Not because he didn't want to, just because he is very much into his work. So the biggest challenge was to keep myself informed and try to not miss any essential moments for the film. In the end I integrated this personal challenge into the storyline of the film.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Very cool. Without being present in the same room I felt a connection. They watched the film thoroughly and mentioned nice details.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
That is actually also in the film! When I was 10 years old my parents gave me and my brother a camcorder for recording our holidays. But we used it much more for short films, acting together but also very simple stop-motion videos with our toys. I think that was when my filmmaking ambitions were triggered.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
I am a huge David Lynch fan and was very into Twin Peaks at a certain moment. So I think that probably is the Twin Peaks film Fire Walk With Me.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Good question. I am not sure. I think your audience feedback is quite a nice element. It connects the audience with the filmmaker and that is sometimes lacking a bit.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Its works quite ok, but they could improve the filter settings. More options to narrow it down, both for genres as well as geographical areas.

10. What is your favorite meal?
I love Indian food. So basically any well-made Indian dish will do.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Yes! I have a very cool idea and concept for a new documentary. A bit more poetic this time but still a nice story. It's about an old and abandoned factory and my plan is to tell the story from the point-of-view of the factory. Shooting will start at the end of this year.