Biography

Maarten van der Duin MA (Netherlands, 1967) is a director and writer for film, theatre and television in the Nether­lands, England, Germany and Russia.

Theatre

After graduating from Leiden University in Slavic Languages and Soviet Studies, Maarten went to acting and direc­ting schools in Poland and Russia. He has directed theatre produc­tions in Moscow, Noginsk (Russia) and Yakutsk (Sakha Republic) and produced in 1998 a festival of Russian classics at the King's Head Theatre in London. Apart from that, he did intern­ships at the English National Opera and De Neder­landse Opera (Amsterdam). Until 2003, he participated as an assistant director in multiple opera productions by the Dorset Opera Company in Sherborne, England. Nearly every summer since 2016, he directs an opera, that is subsequently performed by the renowned conductor Stephen Ellery and the London Gala Orchestra.

Television

In the Nether­lands Maarten switched to television and participated as a script­writer, assistant producer and editor-in-chief in seven seasons of Westen­wind (West Wind), a drama series for television channel RTL 4. After writing scripts for Trauma 24/7, a hospital drama series for NET 5, he was involved in all 78 episodes of Rozengeur & Wodka Lime (Scent of Roses & Vodka Lime), a light drama series for RTL 4, as editor-in-chief or main writer, whereas the last season was produced by him as a creative producer for Talpa TV. In April 2007 Maarten left the Drama Department of Endemol Nether­lands and since then has worked as an independent writer on drama series, like Spoorloos Verdwenen (Missing without a Trace) for AVRO, Flikken Maastricht (Cops Maastricht) for TROS, Moordvrouw (Devil of a Woman) for RTL 4 and youth series, like Het Klokhuis (The Apple Core), De slavernij junior (Slavery Junior) for NTR (formerly NPS) and Sportlets for Nickelodeon, which was nominated in 2007 for a MIPJunior Licensing Challenge. The docudrama youth series 13 in de oorlog (13 at War) that he wrote for NTR, has been honored at home and abroad with numerous awards and nominations, including an Inter­national Emmy, the Prix Jeu­nesse and a Beeld & Geluid Award. Between 2019 and 2021 he wrote all episodes of The Story of the Netherlands also for NTR, which received high ratings.

Germany

From 2012 onwards, Maarten has worked for several years as a director, script­writer and script doctor for multiple German producers. For Looks Film & TV (Berlin) he developed two television series in eight episodes about World War One: Small Hands in a Big War (NTR, ARTE, BBC/MG Alba and others) and 14 Diaries of World War One (ARD, WDR, SWR, ORF, NDR, ARTE, BBC and others), that was broadcast in 28 countries and was nominated for Der Deutsche Fernsehpreis 2014. In addition, he wrote scripts for documentaries, like Father, Mother, Hitler for SWR, Erich Mielke, Master of Fear and Generation of Change, both for ARTE and MDR. These last two documentaries were also co-directed by him. Finally, he contributed as dramaturg and author in German to the eight-part documentary Kids of Courage for SWR and BBC/MG Alba, that was frequently awarded with, among others, the Prix Jeunesse International, Golden Sparrow, White Elephant, and nominated for the Grimme Award and once again an International Emmy.

Dramaturgy

Apart from writing scripts, Maarten has also worked as a dramaturg since 2010 for RTL 4 and has guided the writing process of multiple productions, including De slavernij (Slavery) for NTR and Verleden van Utrecht (Past of Utrecht) for RTV Utrecht. He is often invited by broad­casters and producers as an analyst and consultant for new or continuing radio and television programs, like: the Achtuur­journaal (Eight O'Clock News), Met het oog op morgen (With the Eye On Tomorrow), Radio 1 Journaal (Radio 1 News) for NOS, Andere Tijden (Other Times), and assesses film and television formats on behalf of The Netherlands Film Festival and the Creative Media Program of the European Commission. In addition, Maarten gives masterclasses in the Netherlands and abroad on the "Meta Method", a modern approach to analyzing and applying drama in traditional genres, but also in gaming and documentaries.