Alex van Warmerdam's world

The Dutch seen by the Dutch.
Alex van Warmerdam has his first (ever?) exhibition in Schiedam Museum. I was very curious to see this show being a fan of his work since I saw his film De Noordelingen (People from the North(?). As far as I can remember the best magical realist, surrealist, absurd Dutch film I have ever seen. This film made me love The Netherlands, such creative crazy people must be loved.


I went very enthusiast to see the art exhibition of this film maker, actor, illustrator, stage designer and musician.

Maybe it was my problem that I was expecting too much that I was a little disappointed. I would have liked to be more surprised and taken by the paintings. No, I was not amazed, but it was a great biographical show of a very very creative artist.


I was also one week to early at the museum. Just before the show for the Volkskrant art prize (Volkskrant Beeldede kunst Prijs) was open. I have to see it digitally here.

Documentary: The New Rijksmuseum

Culture Consultant Michaela Barones van Wassenaer and Rijksmuseum business director Jan Willem Sieburgh

The after party

The camera men

The architect: Antonio Ortiz / The director: Oeke Hoogendijk. The producer: Pieter van Huystee Film
It is a very well made documentary on the "Unbelievable story of the building of The New Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam" at the IDFA.
There is still a lot to talk about.

A film by Pepe Caudillo

Pepe Caudillo shows his shortfilm Llora at Marco in Monterrey, Mexico next Wednesday.

RIMITA FILMS y CONARTE presentan a
María Aura · Oliver Cantú · Roberto García Suárez · David De la Garza · Joséjuan Treviño
LLORA un film de PEPE CAUDILLO

Sudden second place

It was only until nearly the last voting that Oranje Nassau School received the 20 points that placed them second at the pre-selection of the Heart Dance Festival 2008 in the Lucent Dance Theater in The Hague.
Here you can see the video of the dance.


Celebration! (What are they screaming?)
The choreographers (teachers) with some of the dancers.

Two other teams.

The process as purpose.

Remember the scenes at Batman when the crook explained either Batman or Robin how they were going to be killed? The ingenious and naive process of machinery moving and cutting a piece, starting the fire, burning the string, falling the blade and that slowly one of our heroes will be cut in two?
Of course it never came to happen as they were able to release themselves from their captivity, but the imaginative process -I wondered why did they take the time to explain them- always remained in my mind.


Years ago, I saw the films made by the artists Fischli and Weiss (another example) where they actually performed and filmed these kind of elaborated and evocative images. They are very creative, intelligent and clumsy at the same time. There is often little purpose to their films but the process of balance and physics.
One of the first films I ever saw on You Tube was that of short "Fischli and Weis" films made in Japan. Every time they said something at the end, that I can't remember, otherwise I could tell you where to find them.

There is also this Honda ad that looks directed by Fischli and Weis only more expensive and less raw.

Two day ago Marsel Loermans gave me the Fischli dvd and pointed me out the new ad by the "uber Dutch" company Hema. On this surprisingly agreeable ad, the purpose is properly masked as the process self, and you forgive them their real commercial purpose.

Go and take a look,
Marisa Polin

Letter to Mauricio Castillo

Those eyes.

Dear Mauricio,
Do you remember? We couldn't pronounce his name. It was just simply to difficult and strange, just as his eyes were. We had no idea he was Dutch. I could have believed he was kind of out of space just as his character in the movie, but I just didn't believe in beings from out of space.
I remember that afternoon when we gathered all at my home, and someone brought a loaned VCR. A friend of mine had managed a copy of Blade Runner. We were all there, you and your gang of "comedian" friends'. At that moment we were all serious, we were going to watch Blade Runner at home. For all of us it was a myth, a cult. "The film". Just as the other big one at that moment: Rumble Fish.
The lights went off, the TV-VCR was on and we just saw a nearly black screen with some sound. Permanent. We tried to improve it but after a few minutes we all new, it was a bloody bad copy of the film, so bad that there was nothing to see.
They all blamed me, why didn't I check the video before, but I just didn't have the VCR.
Who would have thought that the so admired, frightening and weird looking actor with the impossible spelling would I see him once in real life?

I did, at the premiere of Anton Corbijn's film Control, this week. I passed just a few centimeters next to him, who still had a lot of his charming hair and strong features. I was next to the man: Rutger Hauer. I observed his over the 60 skin and looked into his eyes and I felt the nostalgia of being a teenager and not knowing what would be happening in my future, not knowing that one day I would be seeing the unreachable, the "far away person" from such a small distance.