In his short documentary ‘The Story of Ne Kuko’ he explores mysterious power statue of Chief Ne Kuko. The statue was stolen from Congo. Trapped behind glass, this nkisi resides in an European museum far away from his Congolese home. In The Story ff Ne Kuko, the voice of an ancestor brings the nkisi’s past to life. This film was selected for IDFA and is nominated for a Gouden Kalf.
In his triptych ‘The Black Pete Files -an archival essay about the birth, life and death of the traditional Dutch figure Black Pete’ Toll researches the journey of Black Pete using footage from broadcasters and family films.
Once portraited as a friendly helper at the annual traditional children’s party of Sinterklaas the character of Black Pete slowly gains more critique. It splits Dutch people into two groups. After all these years of action group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (Kick Out Black Pete) still has so much work to do. Controversy and heated discussions are still taking place during the time of Sinterklaas. When will Black Pete die?
This film essay – commissioned by Playgrounds and Sound & Vision –premiered at Playgrounds In Motion in 2023 and was shown at Movies That Matter and was a case study for the talent program Generation Inclusion.
Festus Toll often brings together moral issues and the search for identity in his films. As an artist, director and self-taught editor, he aims to tell personal stories that carry a social urgency. His striking graduation film We Will Maintain was nominated for the Pathé Tuschinski Award and the Special Jury Award at NFF 2017. That same year, the film won the TENT award for best video work by the Dutch art academies. The highlight was a world premiere at IDFA 2017 as the only Dutch student film of that year. His production When You Hear The Divine Call was screened at NFF 2020 and nominated for best directorial debut with the Filmprijs van de Stad Utrecht. He also worked as the editor for Fortyun: Un Dutch (directed by Menna Laura Meijer).
