Renée Scheltema

Renée Scheltema is a Dutch documentary filmmaker and photographer, living in Cape Town, South Africa. She has been making documentaries for 35 years.

After her Bachelor of Law and Doctorandus degree in Criminology, she received her Masters at the School of Journalism at the University of California in Berkeley. Her main subjects were TV journalism and photojournalism.

In 2019 the new updated version of Normal Is Over The Movie 1.1 was completed, as the message of this independent award-winning documentary, is becoming more relevant by the day.

Normal Is Over has its focus on humanity's wisest response to climate change, species extinction, resource depletion, income inequality, and the link between these issues. COVID19 is also a symptom of ecosystem degradation. This independent film investigates the financial and economical paradigm underlying our planetary problems. It is a globe- trotting journey searching for SOLUTIONS to reverse the path of global decline.[1]

Funding for the updated version has been provided by The New Normal Foundation.[2]

In August 2015, after 4 years of working as a one-woman-film-crew, Scheltema completed the previous 120-minute feature version of the film Normal Is Over The Movie, which was self-financed.

Normal is Over received the Grand Educational Award, Cine Eco Film Festival, Best in Show Award, Cinema Verde Film Festival, and the Honorable Mention Award, Tasmanian Eco Film Festival. It was selected to screen at 13 film festivals, like the Wild & Scenic Film Festival USA; Princeton International Film Festival; The Santa Cruz Film Festival; Environmental Film Festival Spain; Greenmotions Film Fest, Germany. South African Eco Film Festival; Sonoma International Film Festival, USA.

For many years, Scheltema worked for Dutch television as a documentary film director, producer, camera person and editor: NOS International Affairs Programme. NOS, NCRV, AVRO, Human TV, TROS, Veronica, IKON, VPRO, and the BOS, Buddhist Broadcasting Station. Many documentaries were co-productions with TV and Non-governmental organizations SNV, UNDP, UNESCO, and Amnesty International. Renée has always been focusing on social issues, sustainable development, art and the protection of the environment.

Her art series "Canvas Extreme" consists of seven 30-minute portraits of cutting-edge artists filmed during the Mandela era in South Africa, and was sold to TV stations in France, Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Other documentaries include Happy in Zimbabwe?, Portrait of a Zen couple, and Een Gezelig Gesprek, Portrait of Nicolaas Pierson.

Scheltema's 2009 award-winning feature documentary Something Unknown Is Doing We Don't Know What[3] investigates the science behind psychic experiences, featuring top scientists in the US, such as Prof. Charles Tart, Dr. Dean Radin, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, and Hal Puthoff.[4] This film has been selected at many film festivals, and has been distributed worldwide. Renée also wrote a book called Something Unknown which is available on Amazon. The book has been translated into Dutch, called "Iets Bekends Doet Iets Onverwachts".