Jeroen van Velzen

Movies

Tanzania Transit
Writer
On a train crossing Tanzania, a rolling microcosm of East African society, we follow three main characters, reflecting on the strength to survive.
Tanzania Transit
Director
On a train crossing Tanzania, a rolling microcosm of East African society, we follow three main characters, reflecting on the strength to survive.
A Goat for a Vote
Director
The best way to understand our society is to look at one's children. Three students in Kenya compete to become the next school president. Winning the election not only gives them the possibility for power and respect, but guarantees them a future in Kenyan society. Magdalene, has to prove herself in a boy dominated school which has never been led by a girl. She has the impossible task to unite all girls in her fight for equal rights. Harry, from a poor family, hopes to win so he can take care of his family in the future. He struggles against the popular Said who is a natural born leader with a disarming smile.
Wavumba
Director
When Jeroen van Velzen lived in Kenia as a child he was very susceptible to the stories told to him by an old fisherman. As Jeroen got older, his belief supernatural powers disappeared, but a part of him still longed for that open, unprejudiced way in which he looked at life and for the magic that filled everything with colour. That is why he wanted to return to the country where he grew up. On the coral island Wasini he met Masoud, and his steady helper Juma. Masoud is an old fisherman who still hopes of catching a large shark. How long Masoud also remains without a catch, every day he sincerely believes that tomorrow he will catch a shark. Jeroen would like to tell the story of Masoud in five days. Through this, stories of the past, told by three old people, are woven into the film. On their last day together Masoud shows him the sacred island Mpunguti, the place where his ancestors are buried. There Jeroen realises that the magic of this world rests in the simplicity of it.