PHOTO BY PIM TOP
Studio Kimmo, with its bases in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Gothenburg, Sweden, embodies the creative partnership of filmmakers Mirka Duijn and Nina Spiering. They have an interest in mythmaking and the mediation of place and identity. Kimmo aims to enchant audiences with bold aesthetics and sweeping musical landscapes. The duo often works with archives and archival material, renegotiating historical narratives. Studio Kimmo’s most recent project ‘Shangri-La, Paradise under Construction’ premiered at IDFA 2022 in competition for best Dutch film.
“When you are in the middle of a story it isn't a story at all, but only a confusion; a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood; like a house in a whirlwind, or else a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard powerless to stop it. It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all. When you are telling it, to yourself or to someone else.”
― Margaret Atwood, Alias grace (1996)
We tell stories to understand the world. Storytelling is a way of structuring a chaos consisting of events, feelings, memories into an understandable, agreeable whole, consciously or unconsciously incorporating certain impressions, while leaving out others. The question is: How does one get from a set of experiences to a narrative? How does one shape the process from the first encounter, through the organisation of one's impressions, to a final story that does justice to the experienced reality? This question is at the core of all of our projects, not only for ourselves as makers, but in general in society: What narratives do people create to cope with reality?
Selected awards:
International Digital EMMY® Award, 2015
Peabody Award, 2019
Prix Europe, 2014
Download our portfolio/CV pdf (2023).
“When you are in the middle of a story it isn't a story at all, but only a confusion; a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood; like a house in a whirlwind, or else a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard powerless to stop it. It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all. When you are telling it, to yourself or to someone else.”
― Margaret Atwood, Alias grace (1996)
We tell stories to understand the world. Storytelling is a way of structuring a chaos consisting of events, feelings, memories into an understandable, agreeable whole, consciously or unconsciously incorporating certain impressions, while leaving out others. The question is: How does one get from a set of experiences to a narrative? How does one shape the process from the first encounter, through the organisation of one's impressions, to a final story that does justice to the experienced reality? This question is at the core of all of our projects, not only for ourselves as makers, but in general in society: What narratives do people create to cope with reality?
Selected awards:
International Digital EMMY® Award, 2015
Peabody Award, 2019
Prix Europe, 2014
Download our portfolio/CV pdf (2023).
The history of Studio Kimmo
Mirka initiated her professional journey at the VPRO Digital broadcasting station in 2003, where she immersed herself in experimental interactive and trans-media storytelling for various web and TV projects. In 2008, she chose to concentrate solely on writing and directing, with the renegotiation of technology often serving as a focal point in her work, leading to the development of pivotal interactive and immersive projects, such as Last Hijack Interactive in 2014 (Digital EMMY Award 2014).
Nina graduated from the University of the Arts in Utrecht in 2007, boasting a background in spatial design and video for theatre, working closely with prominent Dutch theatre companies such as Orkater and Oostpool. Although her focus eventually shifted to film, her foundation in 3D space still strongly influences her approach as a director and production designer.
Their artistic collaboration commenced in 2004 within a shared musical landscape, gradually expanding to encompass a multitude of music videos, films, installations, and performances. Over time, they delved into the realms of fiction and documentary film, exploring a wide array of forms, including installations, interactive film, and film for museum contexts. Notable projects, such as "Land of Change" (2013), have epitomized their creative journey, probing questions about cultural heritage in the evolving landscape of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.
Aside from their collaborative efforts, Mirka Duijn serves as a Senior Lecturer in Film at the Master of Film program at HDK-Valand in Göteborg, a MFA program that prioritizes decolonial practices. Nina Spiering is a lecturer in film at the University of the Arts in Utrecht.
Mirka initiated her professional journey at the VPRO Digital broadcasting station in 2003, where she immersed herself in experimental interactive and trans-media storytelling for various web and TV projects. In 2008, she chose to concentrate solely on writing and directing, with the renegotiation of technology often serving as a focal point in her work, leading to the development of pivotal interactive and immersive projects, such as Last Hijack Interactive in 2014 (Digital EMMY Award 2014).
Nina graduated from the University of the Arts in Utrecht in 2007, boasting a background in spatial design and video for theatre, working closely with prominent Dutch theatre companies such as Orkater and Oostpool. Although her focus eventually shifted to film, her foundation in 3D space still strongly influences her approach as a director and production designer.
Their artistic collaboration commenced in 2004 within a shared musical landscape, gradually expanding to encompass a multitude of music videos, films, installations, and performances. Over time, they delved into the realms of fiction and documentary film, exploring a wide array of forms, including installations, interactive film, and film for museum contexts. Notable projects, such as "Land of Change" (2013), have epitomized their creative journey, probing questions about cultural heritage in the evolving landscape of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.
Aside from their collaborative efforts, Mirka Duijn serves as a Senior Lecturer in Film at the Master of Film program at HDK-Valand in Göteborg, a MFA program that prioritizes decolonial practices. Nina Spiering is a lecturer in film at the University of the Arts in Utrecht.