Renée Scheltema is a Dutch documentary filmmaker, living in Cape Town, South Africa.
She has been making documentaries for 25 years.

After her Doctorandus degree in Criminology

Criminology

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...

 in 1974, she got her Masters at the School of Journalism at the University of California in Berkeley. Her main subjects were TV-Journalism and Photo-Journalism.

In 1978, she proceeded to work for Dutch television as a Director for the NOS

Nederlandse Omroep Stichting

The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting , English: Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation, is one of the broadcasters in the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system...

International Affairs Programme. She was also Assistant Director for two Dutch feature movies. Thereafter she became a freelance documentary filmmaker, working mainly for Dutch TV stations, like the NOS, NCRV

NCRV

NCRV is a public radio and television broadcaster in the Netherlands, mostly transmitting on Nederland 1 and Nederland 2....

, AVRO, Humanistic TV, TROS

TROS

TROS is a Dutch television and radio organization part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting...

, VERONICA, IKON, and VPRO

VPRO

The VPRO was established in the Netherlands in 1926 as a religious broadcasting organization. Falling under the Protestant pillar, it represented the Liberal Protestant current...

. Many documentaries were co-productions with TV and the Dutch Non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

 SNV

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is a non-profit, international development organisation, established in the Netherlands in 1965.SNV aims to alleviate poverty by enabling increased income and employment opportunities and increasing access to basic services...

, focusing on sustainable development and the protection of the environment. She has been director, producer, cameraperson and editor.

Her art-series “Canvas Extreme”, of 7 x 30' minute portraits of contemporary cutting edge artists in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, was sold to TV stations in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, and Holland.

In the past few years she filmed for a Dutch Public Broadcasting station, documentaries like: Happy in Zimbabwe?; Portrait of a Zen couple; "Een Gezelig Gesprek", Portrait of Nicolaas Pierson.

Renée's last feature documentary: "Something Unknown Is Doing We Don't Know What" has received the "Special Jury Award" at the International Arizona Film Festival in 2009. This film investigates the science behind psychic experiences, featuring top scientists in the US.
Watch the trailer at:
http://www.somethingunknown.com

Film-Festivals

• International Arizona Film Festival. April 20090: Special Jury Award for feature documentary: "Something Unknown Is Doing We Don't Know What"
• Asolo Art Filmfestval in 2001: “Hush”, a portrait of artist Tracy Payne".
• International Festival for Woman Films (Paris)2000: “Hush”, a portrait of artist Tracy Payne".
• Donostia (Spain): “Seven Days in Burma” a co-production with TV and UNDP and UNESCO ;
• Monte Carlo: “The Death Penalty”, a coproduction with TV and Amnesty International;
• WSSD filmfestival Joh-burg,2002: “The Bus”, with WWF-Table Mountain Fund and the Nat. Botanical Gardens in South Africa
• European TV Festival of Rel.Progr.Norway:"A Zen couple in the Western Cape"
• Santa Fe International Film Festival. "Something Unknown"
• Doc Fest Berlin. "Something Unknown"
• LA The Feel Good Film Festival
  The Feel Good Film Festival
  The Feel Good Film Festival , also known as the Sunflower Film Festival, is held annually in Hollywood, California. The Festival is the largest of its kind showcasing American, international, independent, and family-friendly films from all around the world that leave the audience feeling good...
  
  . "Something Unknown"
• Spiritual Quest Film Festival. "Something Unknown"
• Silk City Film Festival. "Something Unknown"
• Durban International Film Festival . South Africa. 2010 "Something Unknown"

Photography

Renée is also a professional stills-photographer, and has been working for magazines and newspapers in Holland, the USA, and South Africa. She was a member of Gamma Liaison in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 (now called Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images, Inc. is a stock photo agency, based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 80 million still images and illustrations and more than 50,000 hours of stock film footage...

).
Exhibition: "More than Clogs and Tulips", A unique collection of photographic prints of Theo Van Gogh. 2008. Presented by the Dutch Consulate in Cape Town.

Degrees

• Bachelor of Law. University of Leiden. Netherlands
• Drs. Criminology. [University of Leiden]]. Netherlands
• M.A. School of Journalism. University of California in Berkeley