Every morning, Sjef, a 73-year-old regional taxi driver, follows the same route through South Limburg, the Netherlands. Same roads, same elderly passengers, same silence. He picks up passengers who rely on his rattling minibus for elderly yoga, doctor’s appointments and their fragile link to the outside world. They are not just his passengers but his social life, his daily rhythm, his last sense of belonging, just as he is theirs. Driving is not simply his job, it is his anchor.
When Sjef is dismissed with immediate effect and ordered to hand in his keys and his bus, he refuses to give it up. He goes out to collect his passengers one last time. At an ordinary T-junction, where he would normally turn right to bring everyone home, he accelerates straight ahead. Away from the village, away from the end, and into what remains for a long time an unknown destination, taking everyone with him.
What follows is a slow, unplanned escape that often becomes dangerous, carried by ageing and fragile bodies. The bus crosses several borders, stopping at garages and youth hostels. Industrial landscapes slowly turn more idyllic as the bus grows emptier. Time loosens its grip. Conversations fade. Routines collapse. Certainties fall away. What begins without a clear destination gradually reveals one: the right to choose. Toutes Directions is a tragicomic, offbeat road film about ageing, autonomy and the quiet rebellion of refusing to stop. A coming-of-age story at the very end of life. Because even when everything seems fixed, all directions remain open.
Noël Loozen (1983) is a Dutch film director, creative producer and visual artist. He holds a BA in Photography from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and later completed an MA in Film at the Netherlands Film Academy. Since then, he has worked across film, television, installations, photography and commercials. He lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and is the proud father of two children.Noël enjoys making work that is light and playful, but always rooted in something meaningful. He is drawn to stories you did not yet realise needed to be told, often moving along a thin line between the poetic and the absurd, while searching for moments of magic in everyday life.
His short films SPOETNIK (2015) and BOTANICA (2018) were well received and recognised for their distinctive tone. SPOETNIK was selected for the Generation 14plus programme at the Berlinale.For television, he created MOONRIDERS, a children’s series about art, which was nominated twice for a Cinekid Award.Alongside film and television,
Noël also works in public space. His installations OBSTACLE COURSE 2.0 (2018) and DE DIJK (2025) have been shown in public locations such as Schiphol Airport, where they were also acquired for the permanent art collection.
He is currently preparing his debut feature film TOUTES DIRECTIONS, produced by 100% Scripted, set to premiere in 2026. At the same time, he is developing several projects for younger audiences, including the youth series METROPIA with NL Film.
He is also working on his second feature film, The Island of Nose, developed with Studio Ruba and screenwriter Saar Ponsioen. The film is an adaptation of the book by Annie M.G. Schmidt, featuring the original illustrations by Jan Marinus Verburg.
In addition to his narrative work, Noël directs commercials in the Netherlands and abroad. His clients include ODIDO and the Vienna Tourism Board. He is commercially represented by 100% (NL), Simon und Paul(DE) and Kaiserschnitt Film (AT). For fiction projects, he is represented by Connie at Solidbase Management (NL).
Alongside his own projects, Noël teaches and gives masterclasses at art and film schools. He mentors students in filmmaking and concept development, a role he finds deeply rewarding.
