Next time, there will be 10 people queuing for a hotseat, 100 online viewers and dozens of live spectators in the foyer. At least I hope so, because only then will experimenting with new forms, apps and devices make sense, of course. During the second Winternachten evening, Saturday 16 January in the Theater aan het Spui, we had slightly fewer viewers than during our first live broadcast via blab.im, but the guests were no less impressive. We were talking about Adriaan van Dis, Connie Palmen and Socrates.
We run after the guests, in this slightly compressed video from Blab. You can move to the different passages with your mouse cursor. Below are links with the correct start times on youtube.
00′:00″Socrates
We kick off with an intellectual DJ: Socrates. Although, intellectual? He is just really nice and gets his name from his troll behaviour in high school, where he brightened up boring classes by asking sucky questions. Like the classical Greek philosopher, not as chop ball specialist. This Socrates spins everything but Beyoncé and makes a good living from his craft. He has been spinning at Winternachten for four years, and to his satisfaction, as the dance floor is packed at the end of the night.
14′:59″ A fresh fan of Rodaan Al Galidi
One of the most accessible poets has now also written a book, and it is an important one. Follow the reviews in the near future. We spoke, fresh from the presentation, to an onlooker Who Had Been There. She is going to gift the book to her mother-in-law.
18′:47″ Jonathan, the Christian Union's spokesman
He also came fresh from the presentation of Rodaan's new book, How I Got Talent for Life'. And he, in this case, is the spokesman for the Christian Union's Lower House faction. He said they should just bring Rodaan to the Lower House so he could tell the chamber about what it is like to live in uncertainty for nine years as an asylum seeker. We advise the chamber to at least make an effort to read the book.
22′:23″ Here is... Adriaan van Dis
Humbling. Suddenly you find yourself interviewing a childhood hero in the field of interviewing himself. That any meaningful words came out of me at all is a minor miracle. He hates Twitter, but we already knew that. Van Dis has a lot to say about noble Holland. The darkness we welcome, the theme of the festival, he has a thing or two to say about that too.
28′:54″ Slavenka Drakulic on Srebrenica
She wrote books on the drama of Srebrenca, one of the low points of the war in the former Yugoslavia. She followed the trials of the criminals. Slavenka Drakulic also has something to say about the evil that ordinary people are capable of: it is not only madmen and monsters who do it.
37′:11″ The winner of the story contest
Flamboyant and skillful. The girl who returned after 23 years to her high school that is now the Dakota Theatre wrote a story about her time there. Heavy shit. So was the perfume. Your presenter almost succumbs.
48′:00″ The Blogging Intern
Mojdeh Feili came from Iran at the age of six and is now a public relations intern. But she also writes on her blog mojdehfeili.wordpress.com. Publisher wanted. There's a story in that girl.
56′:22″ Connie Palmen Late Night
"England is a very different country to come from, as a writer," explains Commie Palmen, who is not coming off a signing of her latest novel. Before that, she had a rather complicated discussion about empathy and commitment. So you're in need of a little relaxation. And where better to do that than at the Culture Press presentation table.