The Mermaids Won't Drown

Jikkie Schelling received a grant for the development of her debut feature film, The Mermaids Won't Drown (working title). A mysterious, washed-up woman named Dymph is taken in by an older male writer and his protégé. Dymph thoroughly enjoys her time with the men — until she realizes she is not the one pulling the strings. In an attempt to reclaim control over her own narrative, she flees. Far from the house by the coast, she meets the rugged garage owner Agnes, who sees more in Dymph than just the beautiful, empty shell that crawled out of the surf less than a week ago.  

Jikkie is a Dutch filmmaker with a deep appreciation for the unpredictability of existence. She studied Audiovisual Media at the Utrecht School of the Arts. Her graduation film, FUNNY FEELING (2022), received the Dutch Film Fund's Fiction Wildcard, was nominated for Best Graduation Production by the Circle of Dutch Film Journalists at the 2023 Netherlands Film Festival, and earned two nominations for a Buma Music in Motion Award, winning one. After graduating, Jikkie joined forces with production company Keplerfilm to create her debut short film, CALL IT FATE, under the mentorship of Australian screenwriter Rita Kalnejais (BABYTEETH). CALL IT FATE is currently in post-production.