Reflecting Images – Panorama
Alone in the World Alleen in de wereld Denise Janzée
The Netherlands, 2012 HDcam, color / b&w, 60 min Director: Denise Janzée Photography: Jacques Laureys, Adri Schrover Screenplay: Denise Janzée Editing: Jessica de Koning Sound: Wouter Veldhuis Music: Marc Lizier Production: Maartje Bakers for Recht zo die gaat producties World Sales: Recht zo die gaat producties Screening Copy: Recht zo die gaat producties Involved TV Channel: NCRV
Denise Janzée:
Mijn moeder, de actrice Willeke van Ammelrooij (2008)
WORLD PREMIERE
Dutch poets Simon Vinkenoog and Cor Vaandrager, and feminist director Nouchka van Brakel were very much “children of their time.” In the tumultuous 1960s, they went against the establishment and experimented with drugs and free sex, but they didn’t have much time for their own children. In one of the many archive excerpts, Vinkenoog explains that he sees life as a “freefall.” His advice is to “Fall as freely as possible, have no fear, just let yourself fall, and be yourself at all times.” And that’s how children should feel, too, but it’s not how their own kids experienced childhood. Alex Vinkenoog, Sandrien van Brakel and Marcus Muzea (Vaandrager’s stepson) talk about their youth and the impact of this lack of attention on their lives. They’re certainly doing things very differently with their own children. The 1960s archive footage also features Alex and Sandrien as children. They are especially bitter about their famous folks. Director Denise Janszée previously made a film about her relationship with her own famous mother, Dutch actress Willeke van Ammelrooy.
IDFAcademy Results
Amsterdam Stories USA Rogier van Eck, Rob Rombout
WORLD PREMIERE
Belgium, 2012 DCP, color, 360 min Director: Rogier van Eck, Rob Rombout Photography: Ben Wolf Screenplay: Rogier van Eck, Rob Rombout Editing: Frédéric Dupont, Alice Matha, Fanny Roussel Production: Jean-Jacques Neira & Hubert Toint for Saga Film Co-Production: Wallonie Image Production, Pieter van Huystee Film Screening Copy: Saga Film Involved TV Channel: RTBF Website: www.amsterdamstoriesusa. wordpress.com
Rogier Van Eck:
Oscar Niemeyer, an Architect Committed to His Century (2000), Kaleidoscope, Amsterdam Via Amsterdam (2004)
Rob Rombout:
The Man who Talked Too Much (1985), Pas de cadeau pour Noël (1986), Entre deux tours (1987), Nord Express (1990), Transatlantic, QE2 (1992), Black Island (1994), Perm-mission (1999), The Trap of Kerguelen (2000), Overloon Penitentiary Centre (2003), Les passagers de l’Alsace (2002), QM2, the Entreprise (2004), The Jagiellonian University (2004), a.o.
The Netherlands has left its mark on the United States. Filmmakers Rob Rombout and Rogier van Eck track that history across the continent in their search for towns called Amsterdam. Their quest begins with a nostalgic take on the history of the Netherlands in the U.S., including a bit on the Holland Society in New York. This is followed by a collection of stories from average Americans, often living in rural areas. The journey takes us to many states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Montana, Idaho, California. In each Amsterdam, we meet one or two key figures who offer a picture of America’s past and present as seen through the eyes of its citizens. They look back on benchmark historical events, such as Kennedy’s assassination and the Vietnam War, but more often than not their stories and experiences are very personal. The filmmakers apply a rigid style to the four sections – the four compass points – of this six-hour film, and they appear in the film themselves, adding a philosophical and sometimes comical note between the portraits and a more reflective stance in their voice-over.
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