Rogier Timmermans

During an intense emotional crisis towards the end of his life, Vincent van Gogh spent one year in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a mental institution that exists to this day. The female patients who stay there now mostly spend their days painting, like Van Gogh used to. Here, Van Gogh painted many of his famous works and wrote numerous letters. In this exploratory documentary, the present-day patients write a letter back to him. Where and in what ways do they find comfort?

The incredible life story of a Soviet soldier of Tatar descent who was captured by the Nazis during WWII. Today, his daughter Sana is tracing the path of her silent father, trying to understand what made him the man she knew as a child, through his diaries, as well as various personal and public archives and registries. As she accompanies Sana in her journey, filmmaker Aliona van der Horst excavates film archives, to find traces of those millions of Soviet soldiers who were caught in the crossfire of fighting between dictators, who were there but were easily left out of the narrative of the global war.

At the request of Dutch documentary filmmaker Judith de Leeuw, the Dutch prominent theatre director Ruut Weissman is directing a solo performance about the power relationship between a teacher and a student, between an actress and a director. Both Ruut Weissman and actress Harriët Stroet have personal experiences with this theme. The documentary shows how the mutual relationships between director, documentary filmmaker and actress are brought into sharp focus during rehearsals and how the events on and off stage are always intertwined.

The Mangaung Prison opened in 2001 as South Africa’s first privately run penitentiary. Its operator, the multi-billion-dollar British security firm G4S, promised the most humane treatment and the best facilities for its nearly 3,000 prisoners—and naturally at the lowest cost. Testimonials from whistleblowers and former prisoners, and the findings of investigative journalist Ruth Hopkins expose the reality of prison privatization. Guards are underpaid, overworked and fear every day for their lives. Prisoners are a source of income, so rehabilitation isn’t a priority. Prison for Profit shows how this profit maximization system works, and what happens when governmental tasks like detention are outsourced to powerful international corporations. And what are the negative consequences for society at large?

Haunted by his violent past, the ambitious lawyer Anuol returns to his homeland, South Sudan, committed to serve his country and hold accountable those who are responsible. But his quest, led by the rules of law, hits a wall when he is confronted with his countrymen’s reluctance to reconcile with history.

In 2016, the Noordbrabants Museum in the Dutch city of Den Bosch held a special exhibition devoted to the work of Hieronymus Bosch, who died 500 years ago. This late-medieval artist lived his entire life in the city, causing uproar with his fantastical and utterly unique paintings in which hell and the devil always played a prominent role.

One summer seven boys are the beachguards at Texel Island. They have their own secret language.

What would happen with you if only you know the truth, and people won’t believe you? If the government decides to prosecute you and you have to plea for your own innocence without having the evidence? Peter Putker’s wife Durdana lost her life while sailing along the coast of Colombia. And although Peter states from the very beginning that they were attacked by pirates, the local authorities do not buy in his innocence. For them, he is the one who murdered his own wife. Problem is: only Peter himself was there and truly knows what happens. The Colombian authorities assign the case to the Dutch court. What happens when only you know the truth and any evidence supporting your innocence is lacking?