Michiel van Erp

Haunted by memories of her broken marriage and a fight with her daughter, a woman joins an intense self-help retreat when her vacation goes awry.

Haunted by memories of her broken marriage and a fight with her daughter, a woman joins an intense self-help retreat when her vacation goes awry.

Renowned Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf poses himself some big questions: What has been the meaning of his career? Does his work have any value, and if so, will it continue to be valued in the future? Has his artistic calling, has his life, been of any use? The film shows the struggles of a celebrated artist at the peak of his fame taking stock, with pain in his heart, of a life’s hard work - while, just at the right time, his body of work is safeguarded for posterity.

Renowned Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf poses himself some big questions: What has been the meaning of his career? Does his work have any value, and if so, will it continue to be valued in the future? Has his artistic calling, has his life, been of any use? The film shows the struggles of a celebrated artist at the peak of his fame taking stock, with pain in his heart, of a life’s hard work - while, just at the right time, his body of work is safeguarded for posterity.

In Man Made, Sunny tries to find out what society's ideas regarding masculinity entails. Does testosteron define your masculinity? Can men be victims? And do men suffer under these ideas? In the twentieth century, feminists have fought for the freedom of women and subsequently their emancipation. Is now the time for the emancipation of men, are they next to be set free?

In postwar Liberia Clarice Gargard searches the truth concerning her father's dubious connection to warlord Charles Taylor.

A coming of age story of three young friends during their student years in Amsterdam.

A coming of age story of three young friends during their student years in Amsterdam.

Who is still afraid of red, yellow and blue? It is one of the most important abstract paintings of the twentieth century and has evoked more than just this provoking question. Fifty years after the event around the painting "Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III" by Barnett Newman the question is asked: what is art?

Thirty-something Valentine runs a renowned restaurant and her stylish dining room is fully booked for Valentine's Day. Chef cook Angelo prepares the food and the tables are romantically covered. The guests enter, hoping for love on their menus. Valentine has everything under control, she thinks. But how could she expect that Frank, her old flame from 12 years ago would suddenly reappear on this day of love...

An intimate documentary about motorclub Satudarah, often in the news in Holland for its alleged criminal activities.

Whoever wanted a sex reassignment surgery in the 1950's could do so in Casablanca, at French gynaecologist Georges Burou's clinic, without fear of psychological examination. The French transgender singer known as Coccinelle was one of the first to use Burou’s services, and many others followed. Michiel Van Erp’s film follows five women who underwent surgery during that time, just before the sexual revolution and the Gay Liberation movement of the 1960's. Intimate interviews reveal their lifestyle, what made them change their sex, how it influenced their lives, and how they cope with the unavoidable ageing.

Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf (1959) is on the threshold of an important year: his most recent photographic series, Hope, Grief and Rain appear to have given him an international breakthrough. His work has been criticized since the 1980s as being produced merely for its shock value, thus eliminating it as art. But now that important art dealers and museums all over the world are showing his works, and huge crowds are visiting his expositions, it seems as if his years of hard work will finally lead to serious recognition. Yet this is occurring, of all times, in a period of his life in which Erwin Olaf is contending with emphysema, a debilitating disease that obliges him to deal cautiously with his energy reserves. Whether his body can keep up with his work pace is uncertain.

In Fear, documentary filmmaker Michiel van Erp creates a collage of inhabitants of the city of Amsterdam who struggle with various anxiety disorders. Today, more patients with anxiety disorders seek professional help than those who suffer from depression, making anxiety the number one mental illness in the Netherlands. This film will show how a small number of those patients attempt to overcome their fears, in order to get on with their lives in the crowded cosmopolitan city that Amsterdam is today.

Thirty years ago Sylvia Kristel became world-famous with 'Emmanuelle'. This erotic film was the starting point of a curious career, during which Sylvia acted in more than 50 international film productions, including a short-lived career in Hollywood. A turbulent life followed, in which alcohol and drug addictions formed a recurring theme. Penniless, she now lives in a small two-room apartment in Amsterdam. Last year La Kristel took control of her life: her autobiography Nue was published in France and has already been sold to several countries.

Thirty years ago Sylvia Kristel became world-famous with 'Emmanuelle'. This erotic film was the starting point of a curious career, during which Sylvia acted in more than 50 international film productions, including a short-lived career in Hollywood. A turbulent life followed, in which alcohol and drug addictions formed a recurring theme. Penniless, she now lives in a small two-room apartment in Amsterdam. Last year La Kristel took control of her life: her autobiography Nue was published in France and has already been sold to several countries.

Michiel van Erp shows us what the Dutch do in their spare time and takes a look at the industry behind all these leisure activities.

The tropical plant Divina Gloria comes to fruition once every hundred years. For the duration of only one night she shows her exuberant beauty. Then she dies. In this bittersweet comedy we follow a number of people in the Hortus Botanicus, who witness this short-lived bloom. During the night, they become more and more entranced by this sultry miracle, with an ecstatic outcome.

The tropical plant Divina Gloria comes to fruition once every hundred years. For the duration of only one night she shows her exuberant beauty. Then she dies. In this bittersweet comedy we follow a number of people in the Hortus Botanicus, who witness this short-lived bloom. During the night, they become more and more entranced by this sultry miracle, with an ecstatic outcome.