Ben Verbong

Born in 1949 in Tegelen (The Netherlands). He studied Pedagogy before becoming one of the most well-known directors in Holland in the Eighties. Among his films: THE GIRL WITH THE RED HAIR (HET MEISJE MET HET RODE HAAR, 1981), THE SCORPION (DER SCHORPIOEN, 1984), LILY WAS HERE (LILY, 1989) and HOUSE CALL (DE FLAT, 1996). He has been living and working in Germany for three years, directing the television films SCHOCK - EINE FRAU IN ANGST (1998), the TATORT-series episode KINDER DER GEWALT (1999), the thriller LIEBER, BOESER WEIHNACHTSMANN (1999), THE SLURB (Das Sams, 2001), HANNA - WO BIST DU? (TV, 2001) and MY MAGICAL FRIEND SAMS (SAMS IN GEFAHR, 2003).

Director’s statement

“MY MAGICAL FRIEND SAMS is the sequel from DAS SAMS, a film that was very successful in Germany and The Netherlands. Both films are based on the famous series Sams-books, written by the German author Paul Maar. The irony and the absurdity in the novels attracted me and challenged me to direct these family entertainment films. Although MY MAGICAL FRIEND SAMS is meant for children, I think that also a grown-up audience will love him. A 10-year old boy is the lead character but the emotions and the human values which the film is dealing with are of any age: humiliation, loneliness and the fight for respect. How to deal with enemies, how to find the power to fight back and to stand up for yourself”.