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Jakob is a crabby 80-year old Dutch East India veteran. Disapointed with life, he passes his days in loneliness, angry at the world. A young Sudanese refugee, Majok, is seeking a safe haven in Holland. Avoiding the authorities, he only feels at home with the cows, a reminder of his home country. When these two marginalised outsiders meet, it turns their lives upside-down.
"It must be partly thanks to her background as a documentary-maker that, in her debut film, Eugenie Jansen manages to realise such a striking combination of documentary authenticity and gripping storyline." - Rotterdam International Film Festival
"Honest, touching and graced by lovely, natural performances from the non-professional cast, this satisfying drama made history by becoming the first-ever Dutch production to win a Tiger Award at Rotterdam. Never forcing the pathos with undue sentiment, the script orchestrates almost worldless reconciliation between Jakob and Majok." - Variety
Born in 1965 in the Netherlands, Eugenie Jansen graduated in 1991 from the NFTVA, then worked as assistant director and made a name for herself as a documentary maker. Sleeping Rough is her debut feature film.