If you want to get to know new people in your hometown, you can join an association or simply meet someone in the supermarket. But in Aa and Hunze they did things a little differently. Two hundred residents of that municipality have made a feature film together in the past six years.
Although the corona pandemic caused a two-year delay, there is now a film of an hour and 45 minutes. “It was quite a job, we had a lot of work on it and it took us a long time.” Director Hans van der Horst from Annerveenschekanaal smiles when he is asked how to make a film with two hundred people who have only just met. “But we also wanted to get as many people as possible to participate.”
Netflix
Together with co-creator Frans de Jong, he is enjoying the end result, which he worked on for six years. Not alone, but with a lot of other enthusiasts from the municipality or just outside it. The aim of the film: to create a connection between residents. Both literally and figuratively.
“Like everywhere, many people nowadays spend more time at home in front of the television than they do something together. When we started the casting, we immediately received a lot of enthusiastic applications. And during the filming we had a lot of fun” , says Van der Horst.
circle of acquaintances
Whether people have really become more connected to each other varies from person to person. But according to the director, beautiful things have certainly come out of it and people have at least gained a wider circle of acquaintances.
“I recently spoke to an actor from the film who had not lived in Aa en Hunze for very long and who knew few people when we started shooting. He told me that he now meets people almost daily who still know him from filming and that he probably wouldn’t have met them if he hadn’t taken part in the film.”
Integrate
Mariet Bakker from Eexterveen also plays a role in the film. She doesn’t wear real new friendships Opposites left, but acquaintances all the more. “Villages become somewhat connected in this way. I don’t actually go to Spijkerboor or Annerveenschekanaal very often, but I now know people there too,” she says.
In the film, a family from Syria who has come to live in the village comes with her for dinner. Her brother in the film, played by her husband, has little to do with refugees. Integration in rural municipalities is one of the themes that the film highlights. By showing multiple sides and opinions, director Van der Horst hopes to create more connections in this way.
All kinds of opinions
“Contradictions also occur in villages like this,” he says in café ‘t Keerpunt in Spijkerboor. “It all looks peaceful, but that’s not always the case. People all have their own points of view, their own opinions, their own backgrounds. We wanted to show some of those contradictions.”
As an example, Van der Horst also mentions the windmill discussion in Aa en Hunze, which was much more going on during filming. “You have fierce supporters and opponents in that discussion. We wanted to try to highlight that from both sides and not pass judgment, but just show what was going on.”