Denise Janzée

Movies

The Breath of Life
Editor
After a near-fatal accident, filmmaker Guido van der Werve muses about the highs and lows of his own life as he endures a long process of recovery. Instead of a linear narrative, Nummer achttien is structured as a series of movements: it departs from the classical documentary to present us with a series of vignettes that combine past and present, existentialist despair and deadpan humour, reflection and creativity, the joys and pains of remembering and forgetting.
My Name Is Nobody
Director
In 1937, at a school in the Trastevere district of Rome, a class photo was taken. Nobody could have known that two of the boys in the picture would go on to make film history: they were director Sergio Leone and composer Ennio Morricone. Another boy sat between this duo destined for world fame. What could have become of him? Denise Janzee took the photo back to Trastevere to discover the identity of the unknown boy. A taxi driver, an old barber, a retired lawyer, a doctor, a priest, another filmmaker—these are just a few of the locals who puzzle over Janzee’s question. But not everyone sees its importance. Why would you make a film about an ordinary person, when you can see ordinary people anywhere? As the picture of this unknown man gradually emerges, My Name Is Nobody also profiles the interviewees, the neighborhood and a society in which fame is regarded as the utmost virtue—so if nobody has ever heard of you, what do you have left?
Kampioenen van Amsterdam
Director
Marco: De weg terug
Director
Everybody knew Marco Bakker as Holland’s most cherished operetta prince. Until that one moment in 1997. Everything changed. How do you keep going? In this intimate portrait, we get to know a completely different side of Bakker. For example, it turns out the singer has mastered not only the ‘light frivolous pieces’, but also the demanding classics, and together with his partner Willeke van Ammelrooij, he is forced to swap their fairy-tale castle for a humble terraced house in his native village Beverwijk.
Hear This!
Editor
Ten-year-old Tristan lives with his parents and younger sister in a small Dutch town. His favorite hobby is football. He and his friends love the regular practice sessions and matches against other local teams. His biggest wish is for the team to be coached by his father, who is just as passionate about football as he is, and who also played on the national team. But just like his mother, Tristan's father is deaf. Can Tristan succeed in convincing the team that his father can lead football practice despite his handicap?
I Am a Girl
Editor
Joppe dreams of love, marriage and children. Being born a boy only complicates things slightly.
Banking the Unbanked
Editor
Mijn mother, actress Willeke van Ammelrooy
Director
A personal documentary by Denise Janzee, made in an attempt to get closer to her mother Willeke van Ammelrooy. On movie sets and on screen, Denise saw her mother cry, laugh and fight. At home, however, Willeke shut herself off when she was sad. “I’ll only come back out once I’m smiling again. Such is my way,” she used to say. The only time Denise really saw her cry was at the funeral of her father Leendert Janzee. He committed suicide when Denise was six years old. His decision to do so wasn’t unexpected, but his death nevertheless meant the ultimate loss for Willeke. She had wanted to let him live through her love. She feels defeated and locks herself in until she is ready to face the world again. Meanwhile she expresses herself through her characters. In this compelling film mother and daughter look back on this deciding and emotional period in their lives, illustrated by home movies.
Shape of the Moon
Editor
Three generations of one family weather the challenges of living in modern-day Indonesia, the largest Muslim community on the globe.
Rana's Wedding
Editor
A Palestinian girl of 17 who wants to get married to the man of her own choosing. Rana wakes up one morning to an ultimatum delivered by her father: she must either choose a husband from a preselected list of men, or she must leave Palestine for Egypt with her father by 4:00 that afternoon.
Polonaise
Editor
In the TV film Polonaise, traffic jams have grown into a phenomenon in which traffic jam call girls, hairdressers and photographers enliven the endless delays. The film follows a number of people in a jam on the A5. The central character is a Pole in an expensive Saab Convertible, who is wanted by the police. A red Panda carries the heavily pregnant Hilde and her cynical sister. Hilde is worried because she has not seen her friend anymore after a quarrel. In an old Saab, a young couple is bickering. She is a `yuppie cunt' who stakes her marriage for a parking licence and is tired of her husband smoking dope. Charlie the music promoter is driving his son's car. He likes traffic jams, because they allow him to settle his deals undisturbed and meet his secret love, the traffic jam call girl Nena. While the characters are confronted with each other and themselves more and more, tension rises to a peak. A radio pirate connects the story lines with his chatter.
Ochtendzwemmers
Editor
Each morning a group of people meet in the swimming pool to swim. The police suspects it is a criminal organization and interrogate Loes.
Stand van de zon
Editor
Alicia
'Alicia' is a Dutch erotic film directed by Wim Verstappen, based on an original screenplay by Wim Verstappen and Charles Gormley. Alicia, a bored hosewife, leaves her husband and children in search of adventure.