Idyllic debuts at Rotterdam's Big Screen competition

Aaron Rookus’s new feature Idyllic (De Idylle) is to receive its world premiere at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The film debuts as part of the Big Screen competition.

January 17, 2025

Aaron Rookus, as well as the film’s main cast and producers, will be in Rotterdam to attend the world premiere and are available for interviews and photo shoots.

IDYLLIC by Aaron Rookus

Short synopsis: Idyllic is a life-affirming and humorous film that weaves together the stories of several generations of a somewhat dysfunctional family. Each family member, with their unique quirks and aspirations, embarks on a heartfelt quest for the elusive perfect fulfilment of life. A middle-aged man struggles to find his place in the dating scene after his recent coming-out, while his opera diva sister faces a terminal diagnosis and reflects on the different paths she could have taken. Their grandmother, tired of life, seeks an end that no one will help her with, while a 10-year-old boy races to fulfil his bucket list, believing his days are numbered.

Main cast: Hadewych Minis (Borgman, Toni Erdmann, A Perfect Normal Family), Eelco Smits (Pink Moon, Feast, The Blood Pact), Beppie Melissen (Romy’s Salon, Tonio) and Nabil Mallat (Gangsta, Night Call)

About the director: Aaron Rookus (1983) is an accomplished filmmaker and lecturer at the Utrecht University of the Arts, from which he also graduated in 2008, going on to study Film Science at the University of Amsterdam.

His graduation film, I Wish I Could Share the Happiness of Being Alone With Someone Else (2008), earned him several awards and set the stage for his professional career, starting with the short film Wednesdays in 2011 and the acclaimed TV movie A Good Life (2015). Aaron has also directed episodes for notable TV series such as Icarus (2016), Godforsaken (2017) and Towers of Power (2018).

In 2022, he made his feature debut with Goodbye Stranger which premiered at the 2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). His latest feature, Idyllic (2025), marks his debut as a screenwriter and premieres as part of IFFR's Big Screen competition.

About the production: Idyllic is produced by Layla Meijman and Maarten van der Ven for Dutch outfit Studio Ruba (known for Kiddo, which premiered as part of Berlinale’s Generation in 2023, and To a Land Unknownwhich debuted in Cannes as part of the Directors’ Fortnight in 2024), and is a co-production with Xavier Rombaut of Polar Bear (BE), Ivo Felt of Allfilm (EE) and Dutch broadcaster BNNVARA.

International sales: LevelK