RPFF industry: Lecture "Who Needs This Story?"

Lecturer Floris Maria Rijssenbeek, an impact producer and documentary filmmaker – lecture "Who Needs This Story?"

In a fragmented media landscape, the question is no longer how to reach everyone, but how stories can take root within the communities they truly belong to. A documentary does not begin with its audience at the end of the process, but with an awareness of who it is for, and how it can live within the worlds it touches.

Drawing on concrete case studies, Floris will share how impact-driven strategies can connect films to specific communities, institutions, and public conversations. The session introduces practical tools for identifying audiences, shaping narratives that resonate beyond the screen, and building partnerships that extend a film’s life into society. Rather than asking “Who will watch this film?”, this lecture reframes the question: Who needs this story and why?

Floris Maria Rijssenbeek is an impact producer and documentary filmmaker based in Brussels, Amsterdam. With a background in political philosophy (Fulbright, New York), he has spent the past decade working at the intersection of storytelling, civic engagement and public debate. Established Commotion, a studio dedicated to long-term impact strategies for films and social-change projects. Advises on documentary, talent and impact at the Dutch NPO Fund, sits on the selection committee of the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK), and served on the selection committee for IDFA Project Spaces NL 2025. His work centres on building interdisciplinary coalitions between filmmakers, NGOs, educators and public institutions to turn films into meaningful public interventions. As an impact producer, Floris has led the design and execution of impact campaigns for several documentaries, including House of Hope (IDFA 2025), Hormonaal (Movies that Matter 2023), and Momentum (Dutch Television 2022) Across these projects, he develops research-driven, collaborative and community-engaged strategies that activate audiences, shift narratives and deepen democratic culture.

Lecture will be held in English. Free entrance.

RPFF 2026 industry sessions supported by National Film Centre of Latvia and Creative Europe MEDIA.

INDUSTRY PROGRAMME