Dennis Bots (born 11 June 1974) is a Zambian-Dutch film director.

Biography

Dennis Bots was born in the

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

n city of

Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...

in 1974. His Dutch parents lived in Zambia, where his father was employed. As an infant, he moved to the Dutch town of

Gemert Gemert is a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Gemert-Bakel. Gemert was a separate municipality until 1997, when it merged with Bakel. The spoken language is Peellands (an East Brabantian dialec ...

. Bots's father was an avid amateur filmmaker, and Bots made his first film, ''Shetani'', at the age of 12, about an African statue that was bought in the Wereldwinkel and contained a spirit. Bots cites as influences films from his childhood, such as '' Stand By Me'', ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

'' and ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' () is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. It was later adapted into a film series and a television series. Plot T ...

''. He attended Macropedius College and worked for the local broadcaster for several years. At the age of 18, Bots moved to Amsterdam to study film. In 1996, Bots graduated from the Dutch Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam. He began his career working in television, directing episodes of TV series ''Goudkust'', ''Rozengeur & Wodka Lime'', ''Goede tijden'', ''Slechte tijden'' and ''Trauma 24/7''. In 2005, Bots directed his first feature film, ''

Zoop in Africa ''Zoop in Africa'' () is a 2005 Dutch adventure film directed by Dennis Bots and Johan Nijenhuis. The film is based on the TV series '' Zoop'' and is followed by '' Zoop in India'' (2006) and '' Zoop in South America'' (2007). The film was recor ...

''. He has largely focused on children's films since his debut. Bots directed '' Anubis en het Pad der 7 Zonden'', which became the most viewed film of 2008 in the Netherlands. He directed ''

Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet ''Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet'' (English: ''Sixth Graders Don't Cry'', also known as ''Cool Kids Don't Cry'') is a 2012 family drama that was directed by Dennis Bots. The film is an adaptation of the Dutch book of the same name by Jacques Vrien ...

'' in 2012, adapting a book which he had considered working on since 1999. The story is about a twelve-year-old who develops leukemia. In 2014, he directed ''Oorlogsgeheimen'' ("Secrets of War") which premiered at the Luxembourg City Film Festival in 2015. Bots also worked on the TV series ''Celblok H'' (2014) and '' Project Orpheus'' (2016). In 2017, he directed ''Storm: Letters van Vuur'', which takes place during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. It tells the story of Storm, a boy whose father was arrested for printing a letter by

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

. Bots directed ''Circus Noel'' in 2019, about a girl who joins a circus. It was written by Karen van Holst Pellekaan, whom Bots had collaborated with on previous films. In 2020, Bots directed ''Engel'', based on the novel by

Isa Hoes Isa Hoes (; born 13 June 1967) is a Dutch actress. She is best known for her role as Myriam van der Pol in the ongoing Dutch soap opera ''Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden''. Biography Isa Hoes was born on 13 June 1967 in Leiden in the Netherlands. ...

. The film was written by Ellen Barendregt and tells the story of a girl who can make wishes come true for good people. Bots lives in

Bussum Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands near Hilversum. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren. Bussum had a ...

. He also directed the 2022 family film '' Het Feest van Tante Rita''.

Filmography

*2005: ''

'' *2007: ''Plop en de Pinguïn'' *2008: '' Anubis en het Pad der 7 Zonden'' *2009: ''Anubis en de wraak van Arghus'' *2012: ''

'' *2014: '' Secrets of War'' *2015: ''Code M'' *2017: ''Storm: Letters van Vuur'' *2019: ''Vals'' *2019: ''Circus Noël'' *2020: ''Engel'' *2020: ''K3: Dans Van De Farao'' *2022: '' Het Feest van Tante Rita''

References

External links

Dennis Bots
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bots, Dennis 1974 births Living people Zambian film directors People from Kitwe