Rolf Orthel
Writing
Known For

An unlikely friendship blossoms between Elsa, a preppy, idle, spoiled blond who calls herself Gino, and Nina, a wannabe anarchist who plots with three others to blow up an arms factory. Nina is often sour and tempestuous, but with Gino she's spontaneous and funny. Yet the friendship often founders, as the feckless Gino spoils Nina's frequent and demanding plans. They decide to rob Gino's rich uncle to pay for bombs and creature comforts, they sneak into a stranger's house, they steal a painting belonging to one of Gino's boyfriends, bombs fail to explode, and Gino costs Nina the trust of her anarchist pals. Then comes the crocodile test, the ultimate for any friendship.
Crocodiles in Amsterdam

A Dutch couple is confronted with the husband's rapid onset of senility during a snowy winter in North Eastern Canada.
Mindshadows

A gentle comedy about three brothers, each of whom inherited something of their deceased father’s personality. Their paths keep crossing in curious ways.
Bicycling to the Moon
Two very different friends who share an apartment in Amsterdam have reached a dead end in their lives. The arrival of a parcel looks like an opportunity for a change.
The Front Door

The story of those Italian women who, for eighty years, have fought against power in all its forms.
Donna: Women in Revolt

When Laura was six, her parents got divorced and her father disappeared from her life. The happiness she experienced on her final journey with her father, when he danced with her at a flea market in Brussels, holds a special place in Laura's memory. When Laura finds the shadow puppets her father once bought for her in the attic, these open up a portal to the past for her.
Shadowland
No description available.
Laagland

People who create explore, and get to know themselves and others better. In this cinematographic essay, Rolf Orthel looks for the meaning of creating, with reality or the memory of it as a starting point and a train journey as a meandering ribbon through the film. We see the first musical steps of primary school children and youngsters at Jeugdtheaterschool Zuid-Oost. We see what talent does to you when a conservatory student practices for his graduation, when someone paints a remarkable self-portrait or when Konvooi creates a thrilling play. This is high-level creation which makes you wonder how on earth it is possible that you can suddenly be enchanted and moved. The conclusion of Orthel’s search? Creating things is the best.
Creating things is the best

Debuting Iraq-born, Netherlands-based writer/director Ibrahim Selman starts out on docu ground, with a voiceover explaining his objectives and the film’s stand-in location, and recalling Kurdistan before the advent of war. He then shifts into narrative mode, with glimpses of life in a mountain village caught in the conflict between Iraqi military authorities and peshmergas (guerrilla freedom fighters).
A Silent Traveler

Two women are dissatisfied with their way of life and work. They also realize that their resistance to the frightening political and military developments in Europe has come to nothing. In seemingly different ways, they try to change their relationship with the outside world. They watch fragments of films by Resnais and Godard and even want to make their own film.
The White Umbrella

No description available.