Independent Boy

A film by

the Netherlands | 90' | 11/2017 | documentary

A twentysomething doesn’t know what to do with his life. When can you consider your life a success?

For a month, the young filmmaker Vincent Boy Kars makes all the decisions for his indecisive friend Metin. As a first step, he forces Metin to live alone for a month, away from his mother, with whom he has a relationship that borders on too close. Kars wonders to what degree we can mold peoples' lives. The twentysomething Metin doesn’t really know what to do with himself—his friends consider him smart and creative, but he never applies these traits to actions. It’s striking to see the contrast between Metin and the cheerful youth leaders from his boyhood scouting troop. He's also very different from his climbing instructor, who teaches him that you have think about where you’re going— to plan out your steps on your way up the rock wall. But planning isn’t Metin’s thing. He wants to make people think about what a successful life implies. Millennials will recognize a lot in Independent Boy, as will anyone who has ever been in their twenties.

Vincent Boy Kars

Biography

Since graduating from the AKV St. Joost Academy in 2015, documentary director Vincent Boy Kars has made a name for himself by focusing on documentaries in which he investigates topics such as identity, self-image and sexuality. He often examines these elements in the context of the digital age and the way in which the connected era has a vital role in these aspects of human life. Being himself part of the first generation that is dealing with the endless possibilities of the Internet, he is highly driven to reveal the consequences of this phenomenon.

In his directing, Vincent always aims to challenge and play with the construction of the form. In this sense he encourages the viewer to consider questions such as ‘what is real / unreal’, ‘what do we experience as authentic and true’, and ‘when is a documentary staged and acted’?

The young director’s distinct visual language is influenced by this approach, and he is flirting with the borders between fiction and reality. His directing debut ‘My First Porn’ is an example of Vincent’s philosophy. In 2017 documentary ‘Independent Boy’, in which the underlying theme is to challenge society’s definition of success, premieres at IDFA.         

Filmography

  • Sophie En Helene – Short film – 2014
  • Sex? Yes Please – Short film – 2015
  • My First Porn Film – Short film – 2016
  • Independent Boy – feature film – 2017
Square Eyes - Director - Vicent Boy Kars - Square Eyes

Crew

Director: Vincent Boy Kars
Producer: Halal Docs: Olivia Sophie Van Leeuwen, Gijs Kerbosch, Roel Oude Nijhuis, Gijs Determeijer
Cinematographer: David Spaans
Editor: Albert Markus Jr.
Sound: Guus Voorham
Sound Design: Job Michel
Re-Recording Mixer: Jaim Sahuleka
Executive producer: Fenna Breitbarth, Anja Cloosterman
Composer: Beau Zwart

Festivals

  • International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the Netherlands (15 – 26 November, 2017)
    IDFA Competition For Dutch Documentary
  • CPH:DOX, Denmark (15 – 25 March, 2018)
    Next:Wave Competition
  • DOK.fest International Documentary Film Festival München, Germany (2 – 13 May, 2018)
    DOK.panorama
  • Nederlands Film Festival, Netherlands (27 September – 5 October, 2018)
    Gouden Kalf Competition
  • Pravo Ljudski Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina (28 November – 3 December, 2018)
    Zoom Rights Youth Festival – Zoom Documentary Film program Won: Best Zoom Documentary Film
  • Beldocs – International Documentary Film Festival, Serbia (8 – 15 May, 2020)
    Official Selection