Benny Vandendriessche

Belgian director Benny Vandendriessche has worked a lot in The Netherlands, winning a Lamp among others. Being an outstanding film / documentary / music video director, and an established screenwriter as well, he fits Hazazah like a glove. The soft brown leathery kind robbers in a Hollywoodian diamond heist like to wear.

As a kid, Benny read like a maniac, leaving him with an insatiable hunger for wild stories. He worked as a journalist for television for a while, trying to grasp the real topics. But the artistic restraints that the evil masters of TV like to impose, luckily only triggered his drive for more creative work.

As a director of commercials, mostly in comedy, Benny has strong opinions. “A joke is a perfect vehicle for a message. But if the joke doesn’t work, the message is lost. What makes a good joke? For me, it’s the tension between apparent opposites. It’s absurd – yet it’s also recognizable. It’s predictable – but also surprising. It’s funny – and interesting.”

Benny continues: “I often see commercials based on great ideas. But somehow the setup, the timing and the resolution kills it. If a joke is funny, it’s funny. A good joke doesn’t need an exclamation mark!!! You just need to be confident about the idea. Master the acting, the framing, the cutting. And then just be confident. Keep it dry and simple. And let the joke do its job.”

Benny not only loves good jokes, but also projects that are still open for exploration. “Projects where I can add new ideas to the script. To make the joke live up to its full potential. That’s what I like the most: pushing a good idea to another level.”