WE STAND FOR EXCELLENT STORYTELLING, FILMMAKING WITH A VISION

Two-time EMMY award winner Alain de Levita is one of the most successful producers in the Netherlands. He has produced over a thousand hours of TV-drama and numerous feature films. Alain was a freelancer for 12 years and produced drama at John de Mol productions for 7 years until he founded NL Film in 2001 that, under his direction as a CEO and producer, became one of the biggest television and film fiction companies of the Netherlands. Alain is responsible for the hit series Penoza, De Zaak Menten, In therapy, Spangas and feature films such as, Tonio, Weg van jou, Kneeling on a bed of violins, The Storm and five-time ‘Gouden Kalveren’ winner, The Resistance Banker.

In January 2018 he founded the new production company Levitate film, where he works as CEO and producer on high-profile films and series such as the biggest war drama of the past 10 years, the feature film The forgotten battle.

Critically acclaimed Dutch screenwriter and director, Paula gained international acknowledgement when she was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Foreign Film (Zus & Zo).
Some of her more recent projects she has worked on as a director are the feature films Lucia de B. (2014) and Tonio (2016). Both were awarded as Dutch entries for the Oscars.
Other successful films in her name are the thriller Moonlight and the international Black Butterflies, featuring Carice van Houten and the late Rutger Hauer. Black Butterflies received awards in the Netherlands and the US. With The Domino Effect, she won a Dutch ‘Gouden Kalf’ for best director.

In addition to being a writer and director, she has also been a producer since 2018 and founded her own production company: Levitate Film. As Creative Director and Producer, Paula is responsible for the development and production of series and films. She produced the mini-series Kerstgezel.nl and she wrote the screenplay for the feature film De Slag om de Schelde.

After completing his studies in economics, Mark graduated from LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) in 2003. As an actor, he was successful in both national and international productions. He started his professional career as an actor, featuring in both national and international theater, TV and film productions.
His producing career began in 2013 with the development and financing of the international film Kidnapping Mr. Heineken, with Sir Anthony Hopkins. Other productions Mark helped produce are Boychoir, featuring Dustin Hoffman and Blunt Force Trauma with Mickey Rourke.

In 2018, Mark founded the production company Levitate Film together with Alain de Levita and Paula van der Oest. As an executive producer, Mark is primarily involved in financing television and film projects, ranging from complex financing structures to simpler solutions. The last years he was responsible for financing the Battle of the Scheldt (14 million euros budget). In 2020 Mark was selected for the Inside Pictures program.

Van Heijningen’s career as an advertising and film maker spans more than two decades. Mainly active in the foreign market for the American company MJZ in Los Angeles. In those 20 years, all major advertising awards and glory for commercials from, among others, Delta Lloyd, Centraal Beheer, Heineken, Canal Plus, Pepsi, Adidas, Nike, Volkswagen, PlayStation and Peugeot followed. In 2007 he moved to LA where he made his first Hollywood film for Universal, The Thing. In 2017, his commercial for the car brand Kia was voted best advertisement at the American Superbowl. In his position as Creative Producer at Levitate Film, Van Heijningen works closely with founder, CEO & producer Alain de Levita, screenwriter, director and Creative Director Paula van der Oest and Executive Producer Mark van Eeuwen.

After studying Arts, Culture and Media (tracks Film&ArtsPolicy) at the University in Groningen, Hanneke moved to Amsterdam to find a job in the Film industry. She started as a volunteer at several Film festivals (like IDFA) and eventually started at the film production company BosBros in 2010 where she has worked for ten years. She was responsible for grant applications, contracts, financing plans and schedules. The last few years Hanneke specialized in coproducing internationally. That’s one of the reasons she visited a lot of International Filmfestivals and markets (Like Cannes and Berlinale) to pitch projects and also why she attended, in 2014, the course Training European co-production; legal and financial aspects. In 2018 she also attended the course European TV Drama (The Erich Pommer Institut in colaboration MediaXchange) in Berlin about internationally financing of television series.
In 2019 Hanneke started working as a freelancer, specialised in preparing applications for European Film funds and consulting in co-producing in Europe and in financing strategies. In September 2019 she gave a masterclass at Cinesud about international coproducing in Europe.

In May 2019 she started at Levitate Film to help the financing of The Forgotten Battle. It was a good match so in June 2020 Hanneke started as Head of Productions.

After secondary education (bilingual VWO) Marco started the HBO education of Business Administration at Fontys Hogescholen in Eindhoven. During this education Marco has gained experience at the Finance Department at the headquarters of Jumbo Supermarkten in Veghel. After this Marco started the HBO education International Media and Entertainment Management at Breda University of Applied Sciences, where he produced the short film Rat Trap. In 2020 Marco graduated and received the Bachelor of Arts.

Currently Marco is working more than 3 years at Levitate Film, where he is credited for his work on The Forgotten Battle, The Bay of Silence, Colosseum, Kerstgezel.nl en Love in a Bottle.

Lisa Smit has been working as an actress in the film and television world since she was 10. She broke through at a young age with a leading role in the psychological thriller TBS (2008), can be seen on Netflix in the first Dutch Netflix series Ares (2020) and received a Golden Calf nomination for her role in the feature film Baantjer: Het Beginning (2019). In addition to her work, Lisa studied Literature and Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam and nowadays she also writes and directs. At Levitate, she supports Paula van der Oest as Junior Developer in developing and writing new projects.