Of course we know them in Drenthe: the ghost stories about the white wives. But the natural phenomenon will soon also be known in the rest of the Netherlands. This is due to a new historical horror film, which will soon be shown on VPRO and recently premiered at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam.
“I love it wild Westfeeling of Drenthe,” says screenwriter Marc Nollkaemper. “Especially in those medieval times when it was still a swampy area where the farmers had a bit of a say. In the film we follow a kind of Christian commune that tries to survive in that wilderness with all the dark forces that surround it.”
The White Wifes, low-hanging moving mist over the landscape, play an important role in the film. According to religious scholar at Radboud University Arjan Sterken, there are many stories about these apparitions. “They are different throughout the Netherlands. It is very difficult to really see a pattern in it. Some see it as a kind of nature goddesses, others call it witches, demons, others call it gusts of fog. There are many possible explanations. what kind of creatures these are.”
What is clear in any case is that all the stories take place in the East of the Netherlands. “White women in the East Netherlands are a well-known phenomenon. In the Randstad they think you are talking about a white woman,” laughs Nollkaemper, who also lives in Amsterdam. He also looks at himself. His idea to make a film about the white women came from Donald Duck.
“Amsterdam is a very good city. It is not a good source of inspiration for horror. I had to leave there. It had to be about something else. I love the Netherlands and all the stories. In the East of the Netherlands the stories are still really alive.”
A long period of research and exploration followed. Nollkaemper spent a lot of time at the story bank of the Meertens Institute and in the university library. He also went looking for old plays about the White Wifes. “The deeper you dig, the less fairytale-like it becomes and the more it takes on a horror aspect,” he says about the process. “As I got into it I became more and more excited.”
Ultimately, the eye fell on the Drenthe goddesses. He preferred those to the stories of other regions. “Drenthe has a very strong link with Witte Wieven, also together with the dolmens. Even though almost every province in the East of the Netherlands claims that the Witte Wieven are theirs. The Witte Wieven from Drenthe were the coolest thing for me.”
Sterken was also asked for help during the research of the project. “He is of course a religious scholar and I would say a fan of the East Netherlands. This has grown the passion for Drenthe and Low Saxon in the project.”
The film is spoken in Low Saxon. “If everyone in the film were to speak flat Amsterdam or Rotterdam, everyone would think, this is not right,” says Sterken. “But when you hear that Low Saxon, it really adds something. It gives some mysticism, but also a ‘home feeling’.”
Historically, the storyline is not one hundred percent correct. “Folk tales are never the same,” says Sterken. “They change over time. What this film does well is that it is based on stories about white women, but also gives it a whole new twist. It has a very nice feminist message. That is the old thing. bringing the new together.”
Despite the fact that Drenthe was a source of inspiration for the makers, the film was ultimately not shot in Drenthe. The recordings were made in a medieval village in Apeldoorn and across the border in Belgium. The strict nature regulations in the Netherlands were the main reason for this. “Belgium is unfortunately a bit easier to film in nature. I think we would have loved to shoot in Drenthe and may do so in the future. But for now it was best to do it in Belgium.”
Ellert and Brammert, will-o’-the-wisps or gnomes. Nollkaemper says he is not done with Drenthe for the time being. “Who knows, it might turn out to be a big universe full of horror and fantasy.”
The film Witte Wieven is directed by Didier Konings and can be seen in the program on March 16 Koolhoven Presents on NPO3.