Pronounced Yosha Dook — not Juicy Duck — Joosje Duk is a (screen)writer & director based between New York and The Netherlands, selected for Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe. Joosje aims to create socially conscious content through a colorful lens.
Check out my work below:
HAPPY ENDING
HAPPY ENDING is a Netflix feature film written and directed by Joosje, which was released globally on Netflix in September 2023. In its release week, the film made it to #3 on the Global Top 10 list on Netflix. The film has over 6.6 million views and has been in the Top 10 in 46 countries across the world.
In the film, Luna (Gaite Jansen) and her boyfriend Mink (Martijn Lakemeier) are a close couple celebrating their one-year anniversary together. But Mink doesn’t know that Luna has been faking her orgasms since the beginning of their relationship, and Luna has kept this quiet for so long now that she doesn’t dare bring it up with him. When her best friends who know about her problem urge Luna to try new things in the bedroom with Mink, Luna proposes an exciting idea to him: a threesome. The following evening with climate activist Eve (Joy Delima) turns Luna’s life upside down.
MÁXIMA
MÁXIMA is a six-part drama series that explores the life of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. The series tells the story of Máxima's journey from her early life in Argentina and New York to becoming the future queen of the Netherlands.
The series shot in New York, Spain, Argentina, Belgium and the Netherlands. Episodes are directed by Saskia Diesing, Joosje Duk and Iván López Núñez. Joosje directs the part of the series that takes place in New York. Argentinian actress Delfina Chaves and Martijn Lakemeier star as Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander.
MÁXIMA premiered at Canneseries 2024 and broke streaming records for Videoland upon its release. The series was sold to over 25 countries and has been renewed for a second season.
Ik zie je bij de uitgang
Joosje’s non-fiction literary debut, Ik zie je bij de uitgang (I’ll see you at the exit), an ICU diary she wrote for her father about his battle with covid, was released by Lebowski Publishers in September. You can purchase a copy online:
NIGHT
NIGHT is a short film about micro-aggressions in which the carefree dynamic between four friends suddenly shifts following an unpleasant encounter with a nightclub bouncer. NIGHT won the Huffington Post Arts Impact Award and played at over 25 film festivals worldwide. The film was invited by Disney to screen at their studios, and premiered online via Paper Magazine. NIGHT gained over 950k views online.
ALMOST STARRING
ALMOST STARRING (EDELFIGURANT) is an 8-episode online comedy series, which Joosje wrote and directed in collaboration with production company Millstreet Films for Dutch network VPRO. The series was selected for the Golden Calf Competition (Dutch Oscars) at the Netherlands Film Festival 2021. In the series, an ambitious film extra is discovered by a manager and gets the opportunity to take her career to the next level by becoming a featured extra. The series stars three Golden Calf-winning actors: Loes Schnepper, Hannah Hoekstra and Frank Lammers, and was supported by the NPO Fund.
THIN ICE
THIN ICE (GLAD IJS) is a short film about society’s fear of terrorist attacks. The film follows an employee at a local ice skating rink who gets increasingly nervous once he sees a suspicious man with a backpack sitting on the other side of the rink. THIN ICE was supported by The Ministry of Justice and Security in The Netherlands and received the ShortsTV Pitch Prize at the Netherlands Film Festival. It was selected for the Oscar-qualifying Atlanta and Hamptons International Film Festival and gained over 360k views online.
#FITGIRLS
#FITGIRLS is an 8-episode comedy web series developed for Dutch public broadcaster NPO's YouTube channel. The series follows the adventures of three young women in a place we all love to hate: the gym. Each episode tackles different gym-related themes, such as body image, social media rivalry, fillers and crash diets. The show is full of #mondaymotivation, #cheatdays and #bodypositivity. In total, #FITGIRLS got over 1.5 million views online.
GAPPIES
In collaboration with Dutch network VPRO and production company Millstreet Films, Joosje developed the pilot for GAPPIES, a comedy tv and web series about five supermarket employees, known as ‘gappies’. When a new manager wants to modernize the supermarket, old school cashier Greet (Loes Schnepper, winner of a Dutch Oscar), starts a secret uprising against him. GAPPIES aired on Dutch television.
What’s new?
Joosje directed two music videos, for the song Troostzoekers by Wende and Froukje, as well as Sleep When I’m With You by The Indien. She also directed her first commercials for telecom provider Budget Thuis.
In the US, Joosje is in early development for her feature film SUNSHOWERS, a whimsical story tackling mental health issues through the eyes of a teen girl who loses her sight of color. Most recently, Sunshowers was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival’s Writing in Unreal program.
