IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Fatum (Room 216) Ramon Gieling World Premiere
The Netherlands, 2017 DCP, color, 74 min Director: Ramon Gieling Cinematography: Ramon Gieling,
Goert Giltaij, Salvador Gieling
Editing: Ramon Gieling Music: Paul M. van Brugge Production: Ramon Gieling Screening Copy: Ramon Gieling
Ramon Gieling:
De hand (fiction,1975), Vijand gevraagd (fiction, 1979), The Living Silence (1983), Duende, filmessay (1986), Heimwee naar de dood, Mexico (1991), Vaders en zonen (fiction, 1994), Leven met je ogen (1997), Ongenade (fiction, 1998), Film for Salvador (2001), Between Two Saints (2001), Johan Cruijff en un momento dado (2004), De Tuin van de herinnering (2006), Joaquin Sabina, 19 dias y 500 noches (2008), Linksbuiten (2008), About Canto (2011), Blind Fortune (2012), Memory of a Sad Dawn (2014), Home (2014), Herinnering aan een trieste dageraad (2014), Erbarme Dich - Matthäus Passion Stories (2015), (2016) a.o.
In interview room 216, a high-ranking member of the military is being interrogated by a police officer about the disappearance of a woman. The crime appears to be linked to three similar cases. The military man is not under arrest—he’s free to walk out whenever he likes, or to call a lawyer at any time. Apart from the interviewer and the interviewee, there are three cameras present in the room recording the conversation in fly-on-the-wall style. Both interlocutors are well aware of the presence of these cameras. The tone of the conversation is characterized by mutual respect and friendly urgency, and it is also exceptionally candid. In a long, thorough session, the police officer takes the military man through his statement. The stories of a crime and a criminal unfold simultaneously, and in a highly sophisticated fashion. Gradually, the significance of the found footage sequences intercut with the interview recording becomes clear, and Paul M. van Brugge’s composition Fatum (“fate”), performed by violin and cello, lends the whole an even more dramatic edge.
Garden of Life Marco Niemeijer World Premiere
The Netherlands, 2017 DCP, color, 72 min Director: Marco Niemeijer Cinematography: Marco Niemeijer Screenplay: Marco Niemeijer Editing: Marco Niemeijer Sound: Marco Niemeijer Production: Marco Niemeijer Screening Copy: Marco Niemeijer
Marco Niemeijer: Little Angels (2015)
In the past, the now 82-year-old Leo happily traveled with his wife Riet to faraway lands. But since the first signs of Alzheimer’s, the father-in-law of filmmaker Marco Niemeijer prefers his own backyard above anywhere else. There, surrounded by his beloved trees and plants, Leo tries to keep hold of his increasingly confusing existence. Over the course of a year, Niemeijer films Leo every month, from season to season. Whether rain or shine, Leo can always be found in his trouble-free refuge. At first his words and actions are coherent, but as time passes, these become increasingly illogical. Leo begins to wander more aimlessly, playing with a thought and then losing it. Various mantras help him deal with his situation, such as “What I’m not looking for, I will not miss.” The intimate yard scenes alternate with old home videos made by Leo during his wanderlust years. Leo prefers not to speak about problems or illness—though his inspired explanations of the garden’s different plants unconsciously refer to his own demise.
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