27/01/2026
This was our fifth year standing on an international stage like this,
and somehow, it feels surreal and exciting.
Consistency is never automatic.
It’s built. It's worked on. Defended and Re-earned.
At the 2025 American Advertising Awards, surrounded by agencies with massive teams, budgets and decades of head starts, we recognized that we weren't lucky, we belong there. Grounded. Certain.
We came carrying an island.
An island that keeps surprising the world and sometimes, even itself.
Not long ago, Curaçao qualified for the World Cup.
Something many people once said was unrealistic.
And no, this does not measure up to that.
Not even close.
But it does raise a quiet, honest question:
If we can make it that far,
why can’t one of us, one day, soon, make it just as far in film?
To the team, thank you for choosing excellence when it’s harder, slower and less obvious.
To the younger ones watching this please hear this clearly: where you’re from is not your limitation. It’s your signature.
Five years in, we’re no longer chasing validation.
We’re building reputation.
We’re building trust.
This journey doesn’t happen in isolation.
I want to use this stage to send a message to our colleagues and peers across the creative industry in Curaçao, even those that are not a part Pelikula, we see the growth in our industry. Client and investors are seeing the growth and work we are putting in, Our work is getting sharper, our ambitions are getting bigger.
That progress pushes all of us to raise our standards. But at some point, pushing alone isn’t enough. If we truly want to go that far, we will have to unite forces, share knowledge, collaborate, and build something bigger than any single name or studio can. Pelikula is done competing for crumbs. We’re ready to learn from each other, grow together, and make sure that when that moment comes, no matter who stands there, Curaçao stands there on the big stage.
And quietly, without announcing it too loudly there’s still a prayer at the end of all this.
That if God allows… one day, an island this small will stand on a stage that big.
Not as a surprise.
But as the result of years of showing up.
This is momentum.
Actually F🥳ck it, I shouldn't say it quietly actual, I'm yelling it, as happy as we are celebrating these American Advertising awards, the goal is an oscar. 🎤
-Michael Dalnoot
Pelikula Studios International
Miss you 🅱
