NEW HOLLYWOOD NETWORK PROJECT (EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Hugo Teugels

2025 August 21

NEW HOLLYWOOD NETWORK PROJECT (EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Hugo Teugels

Where does your desire to express yourself through art come from?

My desire to create comes from a fascination with transformation and mystery. Artists like David Bowie taught me that reinvention is survival, while David Lynch revealed that cinema can be a dream and a riddle at the same time.

Beyond that, I’ve always been drawn to the intersection of worlds—music, painting, philosophy, literature. Art is the only place where these forces can truly collide. For me, it’s not simply about expressing myself; it’s about conjuring images and experiences that live on in the minds of others, like echoes that refuse to fade.

“Art is the only way I know to express what words alone cannot.”


What are your goals as an artist?

My ambition is to create works that are original, fearless, and surprising. I want to carve out spaces that feel unfamiliar yet deeply human—stories that don’t just entertain but unsettle, awaken, and inspire.

The world already knows how to produce what is expected. My goal is to show that we are capable of creating the unexpected, of reaching for something immense without being blinded by expectation.

“My goal is to create the unexpected—and make it unforgettable.”


What is your opinion on the cultural industry?

The cultural industry is a paradox. Sometimes it is underestimated, as if art were a luxury rather than the pulse of civilization. Other times it is overestimated, inflated into spectacle and reduced to numbers, markets, and algorithms.

But the essence of art escapes such measurements. The question “What is art?” will never have a single answer—and that is its power. True culture is not a product; it is an atmosphere, a force.

“True art always escapes measurement.”


Do you think independent artists today have enough opportunities to share their creativity?

Independent artists live in a time of contradictions. On one hand, it has never been easier to share one’s work. Digital platforms, festivals, and new networks have opened doors once tightly locked. On the other hand, visibility remains elusive. To be seen is not the same as to be found.

Sometimes I wonder if I should push a project like mine toward a more commercial path, or keep it firmly in the indie world. Both routes have advantages, but also challenges. Take a film like ANORA: yes, it was made for six million, but it carried eighteen million in promotional costs. That is the reality—visibility often requires resources that independents rarely have.

“It’s never been easier to share work, but never harder to be truly seen.”


What new project are you currently working on?

There are projects moving quietly in the background—too fragile to speak of yet. Silence is sometimes the best way to protect a vision in its early form.

What I can share is the expansion of Cassandra Venice. Through trailers and a short film, I am shaping the foundation for something larger—whether that becomes a feature or a series remains open, like a horizon just out of reach.

At the moment, I’m especially exploring opportunities in Spain and the U.K., while staying receptive to unexpected collaborations. Cassandra Venice began as a haunting dream, but it may yet transform into a world others can fully enter.

Cassandra Venice began as a dream—but it may grow into a world others can fully enter.”


Closing statement

For me, cinema is not just storytelling—it is prophecy, memory, and dream combined. Each project is an attempt to capture the fleeting light of something that feels both personal and universal.

“Art must remain a question, not an answer.”

As long as I keep asking that question, my journey as an artist remains alive.