Dutch Shorts
Clermont-Ferrand
Jona/Tomberry
Dutch filmmakers were once again in the frame at ClermontFerrand, the world’s leading short film festival. Nick Cunning ham reports. In Jamille van Wijngaarden’s very funny short Tienminutengesprek (School’s Out), selected for International Competition and supported by KORT! (Film Fund, CoBO fund, NTR and NPO Fund), an old-style primary school teacher exacts violent revenge on a very pushy parent who demands the very best in modern education for her child. Despite playing for laughs, the film, produced by Dutch production house The Rogues and shot over 2.5 days, has a serious undertow, the director points out. “In recent years we are seeing a more open-minded approach towards gender neutrality, but at
Rosto
the same time there’s a belief that we should be mindful of the fact that boys and girls are anatomically different. So here we have two camps and in our film this is represented by the mom on the left side of the table and the teacher on the right,” stresses van Wijngaarden.
are very current in my country at the moment. But when my film screened at the International Filmfestival Emden-Norderney in Germany, I received a lot of praise from especially teachers in the audience. So I came to realize these matters really transcend borders.”
“At the same time there are many problems in our education system, a lack of teachers resulting in overpopulated classrooms and concerned parents venting their concerns with already stressed teachers. This really puts a lot of pressure on our educators and is something that needs to be addressed. So with this film I hopefully allow educators, who are really undervalued, to be heard.”
Andy Goralczyk’s animation Spring, made at Blender Animation Studio and selected for Clermont-Ferrand Young Audience section, is the story of a shepherd and her dog who must face ancient spirits in order to continue the cycle of life. It is a proto-mythological tale of the coming of spring, a ritual as old as the world, and is frightening, enormous and exquisite in equal measure.
The film has an in-built universal appeal, the director adds. “To be honest I made this film from a Dutch perspective with issues that
“I grew up close to the Swiss Alps,” points out director Goralczyk. “While I was growing up, our family did many hiking trips through the
School’s Out (Tienminutengesprek) Director & script: Jamille Van Wijngaarden Production: The Rogues 32
