Dutch animation has rich tradition of quality and originality. Some of the first independent animators I started to study were Borge Ring, Paul Driessen, and Co Hoedeman. Borge Ring's "Anna and Bella"(1984) was one of the films that solidified my interest in hand drawn line animation. This tradition continues with Hisko Hulsing. I first met Hisko in Annecy France back in 2004, where he was showing his film "Seventeen". I was there with my film "Delivery", I like to think our styles are similar, albeit, I believe him to be way more advanced than myself.
Hisko has the rare skill of artistic diversity. He is not only a talented draftsman, but he excels at animation, painting, music, and even the challenging game of government financing. The content of his films are emotionally charged, and quite often, actually regularly, on the dark side. Hisko does not shy away from content that other animators would never consider. He uses sex, violence, and solitude as tools to express his stories flawlessly. Hisko's newest film "Junkyard" seems very promising, go HERE for some clips and stills from it. He sent me the animatic last year, and I really think it's his best work yet, even in the animatic stage. Hisko utilizes pantomime, which I've always sworn by as a great way to tell stories. Try to check out his work.. it can be tough to find, he's managed to stay off of youtube.