“How is it possible,” thought Pastor Casper van Dorp (40) from Laren as he drove home after a church service five years ago, “that Bible stories are actually only heard in church?”
From production house Nachtzon Media, Van Dorp has been making films and theater productions based on Bible stories for years, written for an audience that is often hardly religious anymore.
Sometimes he makes productions for Human, KRO-NCRV or Omroep MAX, sometimes for Christian organizations. Together with the Het Grote Verhaal foundation, he made a short children’s film about Pentecost In the Cloudsabout a boy who tries to finish an unfinished hot air balloon after the death of his grandfather. Barry Atsma and Kim-Lian van der Meij, among others, play a role in the film. Van Dorp is busy: he was supposed to meet the reporter in Utrecht, but announced in the morning that he would not be able to make it. The conversation therefore takes place by telephone.
The film’s religious story is deliberately hidden beneath the surface. Anyone who knows nothing about Pentecost or Ascension Day will mainly see a film about loss, memory and mourning. That is exactly the intention, says Van Dorp.
Why a film about mourning around Pentecost?
“Because Pentecost is ultimately about what remains after someone has disappeared. In the Bible story, Jesus disappears and his followers are left orphaned. They then discover that something of him lives on in them. In that they find the courage to continue.
“I think that is a very human thought. You lose people, but someone can remain present even after death. In memories and stories, and in the way in which someone has shaped you and continues to inspire you. That is also in the film.”
You emphatically say that you do not want to convert people. What do you want?
“I think those stories are very meaningful to keep telling. Not just religiously, but culturally. When you walk into the Rijksmuseum, you cannot understand seventy or eighty percent of the art without knowledge of that symbolism. At the same time, those stories are increasingly disappearing from society. Many people barely know why we celebrate Pentecost. I think that is a loss.”
Many people hardly know why we celebrate Pentecost. I consider that a loss
What fascinates you so much about those Bible stories?
“That they can be interpreted again and again. For me, these stories are almost abstract works of art. Everyone sees something different in them. For me it is not at all about whether something literally happened. It is about what you recognize in it and what meaning it has for you.
“Many of those stories are just about people who bluff their way through life, screw things up, sometimes rise a little and sometimes sink again. I find that sobering. That’s very nice. Apparently, generations before me also experienced all the hassle in the square meter of my own life.”
Young people are increasingly interested in religion. Is that search for meaning more prevalent these days?
“Many people have become a bit orphaned. I too sometimes lose heart when I look at world politics, or at the ecological balance and the climate. Then the question automatically arises: where do you get direction from? I think people need perspective somewhere. They are inexorably looking for meaning. Not one big collective story perhaps, but stories that help give meaning to life. Old stories, such as Bible stories, can provide guidance.”
You grew up in a Reformed family and are now a pastor yourself.
“Yes. I was born in a Buddhist family in Sri Lanka. When I was a few weeks old I was adopted by Dutch parents and then grew up in an orthodox Christian environment. But I later found a freer form in it. I studied theology, because for me faith is not about absolute certainties. I actually learn a lot from older people who are still searching. Then I always think: oh yes, you will remain a seeker all your life. There is something of the elusiveness there. of life.
“I would find it scary if everything came to a standstill. People sometimes think that they finally have life under control and then something happens: a relationship ends, someone dies, your company collapses. Then you have to reinvent yourself. Perhaps change is the only constant.”
At the same time, you consciously package those old stories in theater, film and entertainment. Can the Church Learn from the Entertainment Industry?
“Maybe the two are much more similar than we think. A good film or theater production is layered, just like a Bible story. A church service or mass also involves building up tension, emotion, silence and reflection. When a pastor falls silent during a sermon, you suddenly become alert. That is exactly the same mechanism as in theater.”
Your next project is a musical about Jesus.
“Yes, it probably mainly attracts people who don’t go to church. I can’t say too much about it yet, but it is a bit inspired by The Book of Mormona Broadway musical from the makers of South Park. There may be humor in it, it may be grating, sharp, confrontational.
“Everyone knows something about Jesus: you curse with him, or have heard a story. But not many people really know the stories of Jesus. I hope that people take away from those stories that life is ultimately about connection and reinventing yourself again and again.”