MAARTEN KAL

BIOGRAPHY

I’m a director making films with real people. My job is to find what matters most and shape it for screen: clear, human and cinematic.

From the world of uranium trading to Olympic windsurfing and refugee camps in South Sudan: the projects vary, but the approach stays the same.

Much of my work begins with finding the story: the angle, the structure, and what it needs to achieve. That takes knowing what to ask and what to leave out. Understanding complex subjects and bringing them back to what matters, without losing nuance.

It also means helping someone come across naturally on screen, until they forget the camera is there. From there, I create situations where real moments can happen.

Often I shoot myself, working with small, focused crews. Being behind the camera keeps me inside what’s happening: reading the room, anticipating what comes next, holding the structure as it unfolds. That proximity shapes the film.

A photographer first, I went on to study visual anthropology and broadcast journalism. That combination became a way of working I still use: entering an unfamiliar world, building trust, and translating what I find into a story with clarity, visual strength and purpose. That work has taken me to more than 35 countries.

Over the years, I’ve worked with clients including Amazon, Booking.com and UN Migration, alongside broadcasters like HUMAN, Discovery and Videoland. I’ve worked as a cinematographer on award-winning documentaries and as a directing cinematographer on broadcast series.

Through Story Collective, I lead full productions for branded films, campaign videos and commissioned documentaries, with the right team built around each project.

If you have a story in mind, let’s talk about what it could become.