Jaap van Heusden
Directing
Biography
Jaap van Heusden was born 1979 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. As the son of a preacher he was surrounded by stories right from childhood. By the age of eight he had trashed his first Nikon camera. And by age twelve he burnt his first novel because it was so bad. At fifteen he was convinced he would become a major player in European politics. He gave up acting at seventeen because he found out there where people who were actually any good at it. Before going to film school, he lived and worked in Ouagadougou, West Africa, where he shot a series of most enlightening traffic safety instruction videos and co-founded a platform for young filmmakers that grew into the biggest human rights film festival on the continent, but only after he left. At the turn of the century he entered the Dutch Filmacademy where he focused on fiction. He graduated (after a fling with philosophy at the university and a screenwriting course in Hollywood) as a director in 2005 with his film A complicated story, simply told, showing the last intense three months in the lives of two friends, before one of them dies. The film was shortlisted for the Student Academy Awards, it was in competition at the Cannes film festival's Cinefondation and it won prices at festivals around the world. His short documentary Anderman showed his psychotic friend Per battling the madness of his mother. The film was warmly received by the press and distributed in national theaters. In the United States it was shown at Tribeca film festival and AFI Silverdocs. In 2008 he teamed with the famous Dutch actor Barry Atsma to create Ooit, a psychological drama about a mentally disabled man living with his mother. The film premiered at the Netherlands Filmfestival, was called 'a jewel' by the press and was nominated for the Golden Calf.
Known For
A skeptical Vatican priest travels to the southern Dutch province of Limburg to investigate a reported miracle, only to get entangled in a series of apparently miraculous events that undermine his vocation.
The Man from Rome
Ivan is a true number cruncher and 'surfs the waves of the stock market' like a natural trader. He rakes in big profits for the bank. But all is not well. The new job gives Ivan sleepless nights. As Ivan rapidly becomes the most successful trader in town, he feels increasingly alienated from himself and the world around him. In spite of his unprecedented success Ivan has to get out. Before it's too late...
Win/Win
Jos is mentally-challenged and still living with his mother. On his 34th birthday his life is about to change dramatically.
Ooit
A sturdy flight attendant has to deliver a child in mid-air and gets involved in a confusing mother/lover relationship with a boy who's living under the streets of Bucharest.
In Blue
How do you interpret the Ten Commandments today? For a long time, these commandments guided our thoughts and actions, but how do people relate to these rules, to each other, and to today's complex society? Ten filmmakers of varying ages, backgrounds, and experience have explored the deeper meaning of these ancient rules. In the documentaries, they are contrasted with today's multicultural, globalized, and secularized world. A series of ten highly diverse documentaries, each addressing one commandment in its own unique way. The films explore contemporary themes such as identity, friendship, addiction, postcolonialism, morality, and the human impact on nature.
De 10 Geboden
Mirte is a cleaner in the reception centre for asylum seekers at the airport. She tries to forget her past through routine. When the charismatic West African Luc is brought in, Mirte seems to get a grip on her life again. A film about loss, fleeing and love from an unexpected corner.
The New World
No description available.
Drone
The living room of a couple in Limburg is full of statues of saints, crying over all the bad news filing past on their television screens. But while nobody believes them, the two self-proclaimed 'little prophets’ are preparing for the imminent time when their rented house will become an international place of pilgrimage, including a healing spring.
Silent Tears
Swung back and forth between depression and euphoria, David Brown (29) has ended up in the umpteenth psychiatric facility. With stories and humor he tries to keep the madness at bay. Will he manage to stand on his own two feet again, or will he change into one of those ‘Valium zombies’ he only parodies right now?
A•SY•LUM
Per Anderman has been trying to write for years. Right now, the care for his demented mother is about to drive him mad. He decides to record the daily insanity in his PodCast: Andermans Alzheimer Café.
Anderman
With the same intensity with which the flashing blue light illuminates its surroundings, fatal experiences are burned into the memory of an ambulance paramedic. The traumatic dimension of carrying out a profession that is essential for society is brought closer by the documentary confession of a man who sometimes unfortunately cannot save the lives of others.
Blue Light - Memories from a Paramedic
An ordinary day in an African village like any other. Until a song resounds. It reminds the Griot, an old tailor, of an old story about a drought. Passers-by stop to listen as he brings the story to life. Life in the village comes to a halt for a moment.
Le griot de Daporé
The Netherlands is number one in Europe in hosting child pornography. In order to stem this flow of abuse material, the analysts of Meldpunt Kinderporno assess many millions of photos and videos every year. They send online hosts a removal request and criminal material is sent to the police. We do not see the images on their screens, but in their meticulous descriptions we experience how the images of child abuse pile up and get under our skin: they clean the dirt from our digital streets, but pay a high price for it.
10 reports in 10 minutes
This film is well made and has educational value at the same time. It gives a reality check to the problem, and a validation to the Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. The number of positive reactions to the film from those afflicted with Cystic Fibrosis , attests to the emotional value as such. The humor used to substantiate the suffering of the patients gives such a film a great human touch. Hail to the producers, and especially a true memorial for one of them, Robert Schmidt, who so tragically passed away last year after filming was finished. I certainly hope that any income from this film will be donated to research for Cystic Fibrosis, and the film itself could be used to further promote outreach for this purpose.