“Brilliant and sincere
coming-of-age.”
“Spielbergian mix of adventure and emotion in West Flemish.”
— De Morgen (Bel)
“Small but universal. A beautiful coming-of-age about grief and the North Sea, which is full of mystery ”
“Rarely have I ever felt a sense of los so enormously in cinema as I did while watching Sea Sparkle.”
“Zeevonk' deals with a heavy theme like death in a very moving, surprisingly poetic way”
— Humo (Bel)
Sea Sparkle (Zeevonk)
FEATURE FILM
When her father dies at sea, Lena starts desperately looking for the cause, convinced a sea monster is to blame. Her relentless push against the tide reveals a tale of anger and grief, yet also of the strength and comfort the ocean provides.
A story by Domien Huyghe & Wendy Huyghe
Directed by Domien Huyghe
Script by Wendy Huyghe & Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem
Producer: Dries Phlypo
Produced by A Private View & Viking Film
Supported by Flanders Audiovisual Fund & The Netherlands Film Fund
Distribution: Paradiso Films (BE,NL)
World sales: LevelK
FESTIVALS
World premiere & opening film Generation at the Berlin International Filmfestival 2023
FIFEM international filmfestival 2023 - Montreal, Canada
BUFF international filmfestival 2023 - Malmö, Sweden
Barnefilmfestivalen 2023 - Kristiansand, Norway
63rd International Film Festival for Children and Youth 2023 - Zlín, Czech Republic
Zones Portuaires Festival du cinema 2023 - Saint-Nazaire, France
18th Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival 2023 - Busan, South-Korea
70th Pula Film Festival 2023 - Pula, Croatia
53rd Giffoni International Film Festival 2023 - Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy
29th Kyoto International Children's Film Festival 2023 - Kyoto, Japan
5th Cinedu – IFF For Children and Youth 2023 - Nová Bošáca, Slovak Republic
Norwegian International Film Festival 2023 - Haugesund, Norway
Salam International Film Festival 2023 - Baku, Azerbaijan
Buster Copenhagen International Film Festival 2023 - Kopenhagen, Denmark
11th Seoul international children’s film festival 2023 - Seoul, South-Korea
10th Young horizons international film festival 2023 - Warsaw, Poland
38e Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur 2023 - Namur, Belgium
35th International Film Festival for Children and Youth 2023 - Isfahan, Iran
19° festival international du film indépendant de Berck-sur-Mer 2023, France
Cinekid International Film Festival 2023- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
7th Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival 2023 - Szeged, Hungary
52nd Kyiv International Film Festival Molodist 2023- Kiev, Ukraine
32nd Ankara Film Festival 2023 - Ankara, Turkey
40th Chicago International Children's Film Festival 2023 - Chicago, USA
27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2023- Tallinn, Estonia
16th IFF for Children and Youth 2023 - Dobrany, Czech Republic
34th Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival 2023- Belfast, Ireland
KINOdiseea 2023- International Children Film Festival - Bucharest - Romania
35th Vienna International Children’s Film Festival 2023 - Vienna, Austria
41st IYAFF Ale Kino - Poznan, Poland
32th Festival du Film de Sarlat - Sarlat, France
11th Bosphorus Film Festival - Istanbul, Turkey
Bulbul Children’s International Film Festival - Goa, India
AWARDS
Special Mention Best Film of the children’s jury - Berlinale Generation Kplus 2023
WINNER ECFA award at BUFF festival - Malmö 2023
Special Mention Industry Award at Barnefilmfestivalen - Kristiansand, Norway 2023
WINNER ECFA award at Young Horizons Festival - Warsaw, Poland 2023
Special Mention The film educators group at Young Horizons Festival - Warsaw, Poland 2023
WINNER best director 35th International Film Festival for Children and Youth - Isfahan, Iran 2023
Special Mention 52nd Kyiv International Film Festival Molodist - Kiev, Ukraine 2023
WINNER Best Actress 11th Bosphorus Film Festival - Istanbul, Turkey 2023
WINNER Best Actress Bulbul Children’s International Film Festival - GOA, India 2023
WINNER Best Director Bulbul Children’s International Film Festival - GOA, India 2023
ENSOR Telenet Publieksprijs - Ostend, Belgium 2024
PROGRAMS
Cinekid script lab 2018
ReConnext Filmfest Ghent 2020
Cinekid directors lab 2021
Berlinale Co-production Market 2021
First Cut Lab 2022