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, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

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. 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 produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, d ...

'' and '' The Neverending Story''. 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'' ( nl, Zoop in Afrika) is a 2005 Dutch adventure film directed by Dennis Bots and Johan Nijenhuis. The film is based on the TV series ''Zoop (TV series), Zoop'' and is followed by ''Zoop in India'' (2006) and ''Zoop in South Am ...

''. He has largely focused on children's films since his debut. Bots directed ''

Anubis en het Pad der 7 Zonden ''Anubis en het Pad der 7 Zonden'' () is a Belgian-Dutch film version of the children's television show Het Huis Anubis. It is directed by Dennis Bots, with a screenplay by Alexandra Penrhyn and Anjali Taneja, and a music score by Olaf Janssens. S ...

'', which became the most viewed film of 2008 in the Netherlands. He directed ''

Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet ''Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet'' (English: ''Eighth 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 Achtste-groepers huilen niet, of t ...

'' 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 (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. 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, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

. 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. Sh ...

. 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. He also directed the 2022 family film ''

Het Feest van Tante Rita ''Het Feest van Tante Rita'' (Dutch for: ''Aunt Rita's Party'') is a 2022 Dutch children's film directed by Dennis Bots. The film won the Golden Film award after having sold 100,000 tickets. Principal photography began in May 2022. Lucretia van ...

''.

Filmography

*2005: ''

'' *2007: ''Plop en de Pinguïn'' *2008: ''

'' *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: ''

References

External links

Dennis Bots
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

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