Jaap van 't Kruis is a Dutch independent documentary director and editor with over 15 years of experience. His films — including Unpaved Road to Peace (Netflix), Stubborn Town (winner of the Dutch Master Storytelling Award, 2015), and Worth the Effort (2013) — have been broadcast on Dutch television and featured at international film festivals. As an editor, his work has appeared on platforms such as VICE, The New Yorker, and TED. He has also collaborated with the United Nations and other international NGOs on a variety of visual storytelling projects. Now based in Bogotá, Colombia, Jaap continues to work as a director and editor, and leads the Cruzomundo Storytelling Academy, which he founded in 2019 to help local storytellers find their voice and craft stories that inspire action and shift perspectives.. He also serves as a storytelling coach and long-form video editor for Amazon Underworld, supporting journalists in transforming complex investigations into powerful, narrative-driven visual stories.