We spoke to Erik Glijnis, producer at Dutch outfit Lemming Film. This year, Glijnis has been selected as one of the participants in European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move initiative. During our conversation, Glijnis spoke about how he kicked off his career in the film industry, the challenges of doing his job and the rich line-up of new projects he is currently working on.

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Cineuropa: What pushed you to enter this industry?
Erik Glijnis: I’ve always been a big fan of cinema but didn’t know anything about the industry. During my initial studies, I did an internship at a production company, and that’s where it all started. I worked in different positions on set and, later on, in the office. Then I applied to study as a producer at the Netherlands Film Academy. During my time at the film school, I started producing shorts, and after graduating, I worked as a 1^st AD and produced two features. That’s when Lemming Film reached out, and I joined the company in 2016.

What is the most challenging aspect of a producer's job? Which is the most rewarding?
The diversity of the job: every project is tailor-made and has its difficulties and [its] problems. I think the most rewarding [aspect] is collaborating with different people and building a “winning” team. It sounds clichéd, but for me it’s true.

What are the main challenges and advantages of producing in your country? How would you judge the current state of its film scene?
We have a strong industry with reliable and accessible financing partners, like the Netherlands Film Fund, the Hubert Bals Fund, public broadcasters and local distributors, and pretty much every streamer has a Benelux office. The funding system works well for both majority and minority co-productions.

How do you think being one of the Producers on the Move will benefit your career?
Most of our collaborations start with the people, not from a specific project. It’s great to meet inspiring producers from all around Europe. I’m confident the programme will result in new friendships and future collaborations.

How do you think your job is changing owing to the historic events and digital transformations we've been going through over the last two years – for instance, the pandemic, the rise of VoD platforms, and the surge in AI and algorithms?
I think our job and the industry are always changing; we need to stay versatile and adaptive. We can’t predict the future, but it’s our task as independents to create daring stories, to take risks and, with that, earn and maintain our place in an ever-changing landscape.

What about your next projects?
We’ve just wrapped Tallulah Schwab’s feature Mr. K, an English-language feature starring Crispin Glover and Sunny Melles [see the news]. It’s a Lemming Film, A Private View and The Film Kitchen production in co-production with Take 1.

This summer, we’re shooting the English-language feature The Wolf, the Fox & the Leopard by David Verbeek, a Lemming production in co-production with Ireland’s Feline Films and Luxembourg’s Deal Productions. In summer, we’ll also shoot two minority co-productions: Skiff by Cecilia Verheyden – the majority producer is Belgium’s Mirage Films – and John Skoog’s Värn, another co-production with Swedish production company Plattform Produktion, starring Denis Lavant.

Next spring, we’ll shoot Michiel ten Horn’s romantic comedy Any Other Night, starring Gillian Jacobs and Marwan Kenzari, a Lemming Film, Lithium Studios and One Two Films production. And our aim is to shoot Shariff Korver’s upcoming horror feature Tenok at the end of 2024, a film about the illegal adoption of South American children, set in the Netherlands in the 1990s.