Director Fleur Nonnekes (from Veendam) filmed a declaration of love for Groningen: Could do less

Three months ago, Fleur Nonnekes moved to The Hague for love. With the short film in her suitcase Could do less with which she graduated from the Utrecht University of the Arts (HKU). A week ago she was allowed to show him as ‘Hague maker’ during a local film festival. With English subtitles. Because who in The Hague understands Gronings?

Could do less is a declaration of love for the province where Nonnekes (1997) was born and raised. Expect a hybrid montage film with shots of locations known and less known to Groningen residents. Expect cameos from well-known and lesser-known Groningen residents. But don’t expect a slick tourist promo clip. The director, who comes from Veendam, worked too humorously and too artistically for that.

The beckoning perspective

“I wanted to make a pleasant, nice, sweet and funny film about Groningen, because such a film is nowhere to be found,” says Nonnekes. “Almost everything you see passes ka-la-mi-taitn say moar . Such a shame. People are becoming immune to the Giro 555 methodology. I have noticed this since I live in the Randstad. When it comes to Groningen, people get tired of it pretty quickly. I’m more of an ogling perspective. If you show that you are sociable, you will automatically get visitors.”

Contains two red lines Could do less . We see a delivery person from it Gronings Nieuwsblad relax and cycle through the surrounding countryside. And we see a man in a car who has difficulty crossing the road at a deserted intersection in the Veenkoloniën. The boy is used to show the people of Groningen “what they can all be proud of.” The man in the car talks about the Groningen character, insofar as it exists.

Patience and modesty

The idea for the man in the car came from her grandmother. “He comes from North Brabant and noticed that the people of Groningen stop for you. That expresses patience and modesty, and I have magnified that,” says Nonnekes, who has the impression that Groningen residents do not consider themselves and their problems important. “For an artist, such an attitude is paradoxical. On the one hand, it’s your job to stand out. On the other hand, the Groningen background says that it should not be too much.”

The choice for the Groningen language was quickly made. That it should include music by Ede Staal, played by living musicians, also: “Everything had to be as Groningen as possible.” Nonnekes herself hardly speaks ‘the Grunnegers’. “I’m getting better at it,” she says. “If I can speak Gronings with someone, I will do it right away. And if I notice that someone is interested, I like to use the salutation ‘moi’.”

‘It really took love’

She cannot imagine such a film being made about Utrecht or South Holland. “For the editing I was looking for someone who had nothing to do with Groningen and the countryside. When I found it, she gave the assignment back: she couldn’t do it. Of course, it was quite a project. The fact that it was successful is because I found someone from the Warffum area for the assembly. Love for Groningen was really needed.”

So far it is Could do less shown three times: in Utrecht, The Hague and Leeuwarden. In any case, after Groningen there will be another screening at a festival in France. It gives Nonnekes time to think about new projects. She wants to make more fun, funny and enjoyable things where the focus is on fun, she says. “Children’s programs seem fantastic to me. A Groningen Sesame Street or The core would be great.”