On Monday, the 2015 batch of the Film Academy the graduation work that will remain on the Keep an Eye Festival at EYE. Academy director Bart Römer expressed optimism about the economic opportunities for Dutch film. He sees a less bleak wind blowing for film in The Hague (stimulus of 20 million a year) and referred to the good Dutch market share (20%) in cinema and the increasing demand for high-quality television drama.
Then up-and-coming talent could show their worth. Honestly, I have seen more exciting graduation years. Someone who could immediately join, say, Morgan Knibbe or Sam de Jong - both recently with sensational cinema debuts - I wouldn't dare point out yet.
The Bright Life of Oleg
In any case, it is telling that some of the results of the commercial assignment - a side programme that usually generates little substance - grabbed me more this year than most other graduation papers. Here we find emotion and engagement. When the lecturers were considering the theme at the beginning of the year, the attack on Charlie Hebdo had just taken place. This made further puzzling unnecessary. The spots now shown are about freedom of speech as a human right, compliments of Amnesty International.
The award for the best promotional film went to 'The Bright Life of Oleg', which calls attention to the fact that Russian-raised filmmaker Oleg Sentsov still has 20 years hanging over his head. Deadpan, surprising, moving and shockingly touching. Perhaps not coincidentally, the director of this puffy miniature, Hetty de Kruijf, also has the Topkapi Fiction Prize-winning 'Nachtoord' to her name.
Tarikat
In the main programme of graduation films, the best work was among the documentaries - this year all by female filmmakers. A poetic impression of the ecstasy of practitioners of mystical Sufi rituals even won a double award. Directed by Jasmijn Schrofer, this 'Tarikat' (The Path), directed by Jasmijn Schrofer, is perhaps a bit droll, and more intuitive than informative, but meticulous, formal and lovingly made. Good enough for the VPRO Documentary Prize and the KNF Prize of the Dutch film press.
Nightlife
In the fiction department, many makers this year sought it in absurdist tales, with or without the requisite bizarre or black humour. Promising in concept sometimes, but just as often half-heartedly developed. More form than substance. The energetic mindfulness satire 'Jack' still holds its own thanks to the furious efforts of leading actor Gijs Scholten van Aschat.
But understandably, the Topkapi jury also chose the most austere work of fiction. In Hetty de Kruijf's 'Nachtoord', shot in black and white, we follow a young key maker in who tries to keep the flame of his imagination burning in a sad environment anyway. Occasionally he makes an extra copy of a key, but not to do what you might think.
My Silicone Love
But why make up bizarre stories when they are up for grabs? Whereas the absurdism in the fiction films shown is mostly non-committal, in the documentary 'My Silicone Love' it turns out to work just that. Because it is real. Are you familiar with the feature films 'Air Doll' or 'Lars and the Real Girl', about men who have a relationship with a sex doll? And did you wonder if such a thing really exists? 'My Silicone Love' by Sophie Dros provides the answer.
It is the portrait of a British fifty-something who has 13 lifelike silicone dolls. Women he dresses up, has photo shoots and conversations with and plays roles in all sorts of fantasy worlds. Yes, and who also give him sex and tenderness. Is he happy enough with that?
It is a subject where it is easy to slip up. Dros has warded off that danger with a steady hand, plenty of empathy and, where necessary, a sense of humour. A relatively traditionally executed, yet surprising docu that is also award-worthy as far as I'm concerned.
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