Saskia Diesing
Born 1972, Winschoten (the Netherlands). In 1996 she completed her film studies at the Utrecht School of the Arts (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht, HKU). Since graduating she has worked for the Dutch TV broadcaster VPRO. Then she directed the TV movies DU (DE NIEUWE LOLA’S, 2003), ONE NIGHT STAND - NEW SHOES (NIEUWE SCHOENEN, 2004), ONE NIGHT STAND III - TAXI 656 (TAXI 656, 2008), and the short film NTR KORT! - THE LAST DAY (DE LAATSTE DAG, 2008). NENA is her first theatrical feature film and received a Special Mention in the Generation 14plus section at the Berlin Film Festival 2015.

Director’s statement
“When parents, hit by identity crisis, divorce, or illness, are simply trying to make it from one day to the next, while their decisions become increasingly harder to understand – then it’s time for their children to grow up a little faster. NENA is an uncomfortable, sometimes painfully funny drama about decay and death. And about that overwhelming first crush, the first time having sex, and the feeling there are so much more exciting things yet to come.
“Like the film’s father my own father, almost completely paralyzed, has tried to take his own life on many occasions. Each time he came really close. In these circumstances failure is as hurtful as success, and only made his loved ones more angry: because there followed no grief to soften that anger.
“What does a girl going through puberty do, when confronted by her own father’s persistent death wish? She goes into denial, she pleads, she argues – and always with the hope for a happy end. And if there is none? Life will go on, you’ll come to realize that. It’s a liberating notion. And the love once shared, it goes on too”.