Penozamaker Diederik van Rooijen has made a large international children’s series. With Vampires in the night the director wanted to make something epic and take children seriously.
“I don’t approach a child’s series any differently than a series for adults. Of course it doesn’t get so bloody and you deal differently with shock moments, but I think it’s important to take children as seriously as their parents. I don’t want to make childish television, there I was not looking for myself as a ten-year-old. Then I missed tension and something scary on television. If I had been a child now, I would have liked to watch this series and now I enjoy watching it, “said the director and screenwriter in conversation with NU.nl.
In Vampires in the night tells the story of five fighting vampire families who have to come together to survive. The English-language series is a major international production, with employees and actors from all over Europe and recording locations in Croatia, Lithuania, Norway and Latvia. But Van Rooijen also cooperates with again Penozaactress Monic Hendrickx and Anna Drijver and Benja Bruijning also have a role.
“You are challenged and can think along”
Actress Sallie Harmsen, who has worked extensively abroad in recent years, also has a role in the series. The cooperation with Van Rooijen was an important condition for her to say yes. “I have always wanted to work with him, I know Monic fairly well and he is always so positive about him. You are challenged by Diederik and I look for that in a role. You can think along, you can always try something else.”
The actress does not adjust her way of working when she acts for children. “The series is suitable for children because it looks at the storyline, the way you portray things. But I empathize as I always do. I try to find out why my character Tonka does certain things, teach me her habits. If I would do it differently because I make it for children, I wouldn’t take them as seriously as adults. I don’t want that. “
Working with children
Working with children, who make up the majority of the cast, is different. They take their work just as seriously as their adult colleagues, Van Rooijen believes, but he was often surprised. “Eleven children worked with us on this project for about 108 days. Then you become a family and get to know each other well. And then they can surprise me: children sometimes give such a different response than you expect. Then it is a kind of gift on the set. “
With Vampires in the night, or Heirs in the Night as the series is called internationally, Van Rooijen wanted to create something “epic”. “I have always wanted to do something with this genre and that I can now do that on this scale, I think it is really great. The ambitions are very big and I am already editing the second season. There is a lot of confidence in it , that is nice work. “
Vampires in the night can be seen weekly at 7.50 pm on NPO Zapp
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