Carice van Houten Stars in Mees Peijnenburg’s 'A Family'

Dutch filmmaker Mees Peijnenburg is to direct “A Family,” which stars “Game of Thrones” actor Carice van Houten , Pieter Embrechts, Finn Vogels and Celeste Holsheimer. The film, described as a deeply personal and intimate portrait of a family, is set to shoot until late October. “A Family” will be distributed in the Benelux by Cinéart .

Peijnenburg said: “This project is very personal and important to me. For a very long time, I’ve wanted to make a film about a family going through divorce. I waited years for the right moment, and now, that moment has come. ‘A Family’ is a film about resilience, heartache, loneliness, unconditional love, and, above all, emotional safety. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to create ‘A Family’ with such a formidable cast and crew.”

Van Houten said: “The themes of ‘A Family’ and the emotional complexities of the children’s characters resonated deeply with me, so when Mees showed me his vision of what he wanted this film to be it was an easy yes.”

The film centers on teenagers Eli and Nina, who are trying, each in their own way, to keep their heads above water while the marriage of their parents — played by Van Houten and Embrechts — dissolves into a messy divorce. “A Family” is narrated from the perspective of the children.

Eli, 14, and Nina, 16, seem to be leading carefree lives. Eli is on the competitive swim team and Nina is in love with her girlfriend Steffie. The divorce of their parents Maria and Jacob leaves them torn between their mother and father. As parental rights are battled out and arguments rage, Eli and Nina are forced to make choices they do not want to make. Both engulfed in their own grief, Eli and Nina drift further and further apart. Until they realize they are both looking for the same love, recognition and comfort.

“A Family” is produced by Iris Otten and Nathalie van der Burg from Juliet at Pupkin (“Paradise Drifters,” “Take Me Somewhere Nice,” “Lampje”) in co-production with The Reunion — the Belgian production company run by Michiel and Lukas Dhont (“Girl,” “Close”) — and VPRO Broadcast.

The screenplay is written by Bastiaan Kroeger (“Pink Moon”) and Peijnenburg. The cinematography is by Jasper Wolf (“Babygirl,” “Golda”).

The film is being made with support from the Netherlands Film Fund and the Netherlands Film Production Incentive, CoBO, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), Eurimages, the Tax Shelter incentive provided by the Belgian federal government, and Flanders Tax Shelter.

Peijnenburg previously directed “We Will Never Be Royals,” which won best TV drama at the Dutch TV Beelden Awards, and “Paradise Drifters,” which screened at the Berlinale.