Lepel is a new Dutch/German coproduction now making its way across the Atlantic.
Joep Truyen is the star of the film. He previously had a small role in Pietje Bell and appeared in two short films which haven't been widely distributed.
Nine-year-old Lepel has an odd name – in Dutch it means “spoon.” Unfortunately, Lepel can’t ask his parents why they chose this name for him because they mysteriously disappeared in a hot-air balloon – so long ago, in fact, that he can’t even remember them.
Now Lepel lives with his greedy grandma Koppenol, spending his time sorting buttons and organizing her shop. Koppenol is tight-lipped with information about Lepel’s parents, only letting on that they are adventurers. Lepel still hopes for their return, longing for the love and comfort of real parents, instead of making do with Koppenol, who is cold, mean and bossy. She likes to steal the buttons from clothes in the department store and always forces Lepel to help her. On one of these excursions, Lepel decides to escape, hiding until the shop closes and all of the workers leave.
But he’s not alone. Pleun, a streetwise girl who lives behind the sweaters in menswear, decides to help Lepel get away from his grandmother once and for all. With Koppenol hot on their trail, Lepel and Pleun try to locate his missing parents – but to no avail.
However, the truth behind Lepel’s strange name proves to be a link to his current circumstances and, together with Pleun and a kind-hearted shop assistant named Max, he manages to find the parents for whom he has always yearned.
Lepel is a colourful film about a determined boy that is often whimsical and always hopeful.
An official site is available at
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)Neeltje de Vree plays Lepel's sidekick. Euro film fans might remember her as the star of the Belgian film Sea of Silence.