A series by Marc Schmidt, Dylan Werkman, Sergej Kreso, Bibi Fadlalla, Simonka de Jong, Geertjan Lassche, Jan Willem den Bok, Jaapp van Heusden, Jos de Putter, Raluca Lupascu, Festus Toll
The Netherlands, 2025

A modern take in ten different formats and by ten different directors.

How do we interpret the Ten Commandments in our current era? For a long time, the Ten Commandments gave direction to thinking and actions, but how do we relate to these rules, to each other and to the complex societies we live in?

1. HOW TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY (55’), Marc Schmidt
In an attempt to make sense of his late father’s excessive insatiability, filmmaker Marc Schmidt embarks on a personal search for the emptiness within us with four women, oscillating between loss, sex addiction, bulimia, and sailing.
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/how-to-disappear-completely

2. IMAGES FROM TUVALU (25’), Dylan Werkman
Dealing with images of climate disasters far from home and reclaiming the impact of these images so that they trigger awareness and action. An investigation into the emotional connection between the Western audience and those affected by the climate crisis on the island of Tuvalu.
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/images-from-tuvalu

3. FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS (50’), Sergej Kreso
In the Bosnian city of Mostar, where the traces of war's destruction are still visible, a group of people try to resist another destructive force: their gambling addiction. A film about faith, hope and the power of being
together.
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/forgive-us-our-debts

4. GET UP! AND REST. (56’), Bibi Fadlalla
Five ambitious young people explore the influence of their inner, critical voice on their lives. What does rest mean when you have been brought up to believe you can only be successful through hard work, especially as second generation immigrants?
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/get-up-and-rest

5. I WAS ONLY A CHILD (76’), Geertjan Lassche
A woman speaks out about years of sexual abuse by her father, confronting her past, her family and the church members who knew about the abuse but looked away and did not intervene.
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/i-was-only-a-child

6. AM I A KILLER (53’), Simonka de Jong
A personal documentary conversation about the ability to kill. For filmmaker Simonka de Jong, her aversion to killing prompts her to search for the killer within herself. How do we relate to today's violent wars and is it possible to remain non-violent? Is a deserter, or someone who refuses to kill in wartime, a coward or a hero?
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/am-i-a-killer

7. NOWHERE MAN (30’), Jaap van Heusden
After the death of their solitary best friend and hero, two filmmakers find a box containing 24 old tapes of their road trip decades ago, which ended in argument and deception. They decide to edit the tapes to bring their friend back to life. Have they stayed true to their friendship?
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/nowhere-man

8. THE HOMECOMING (50’), Dos de Putter
Built almost entirely from recycled footage, the film reimagines our fractured relationship with nature. Inspired by writer Karen Armstrong, it argues that real environmental change requires a profound spiritual shift, moving beyond Western exploitation toward a deeper, sustainable connection with the earth.
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/the-homecoming

9. TREE OF LIES (26’), Raluca Lupaşcu
An intimate and honest mosaic film about the human tendency to lie and the meaning of lies for the liar himself. A group of people share their lies, small or big, close to the skin. When does lying get toxic, where do we draw the line?
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/tree-of-lies

10. THE STORY OF NE KUKO (25’), Festus Toll
In a vitrine at the Africa Museum in Belgium stands the nkisi of Ne Kuko, far away from his Congolese home in the mountains of Boma. This mysterious power statue was looted from its community and has been on display and trapped behind glass for more than 100 years.
https://firsthandfilms.vhx.tv/products/the-story-of-ne-kuko

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