The programming of the Limburg Film Festival (LFF) in Venlo was announced on Thursday evening. A total of 49 films can be seen that have something to do with Limburg in one way or another. The opening films are about skateboarding star Candy Jacobs and the Passion Play.
All films are set in Limburg, the makers or actors are Limburgish, or they deal with Limburg themes such as carnival. The LFF organization had to make a selection from 70 entries, a record.
Candy Jacobs
The opening films of the festival are ‘Het Kruis van Tegelen’ by Hans Heijnen and ‘Candy: A Skater’s Mind’ by Ruud Lenssen from Horst. Lenssen follows the performance of skateboarder Candy Jacobs from Tegelen in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Her dream of an Olympic medal is shattered when she tests positive for corona once she arrives in Tokyo.
Video Diary
Jacobs is forced to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel in Tokyo. “Skaters are used to making videos of themselves. In a video diary we see the peaks and valleys. She is alone with her camera. That makes it super intimate, honest and disarmed,” says Lenssen. The documentary maker previously made the award-winning Wei (2019), a portrait of his father with dementia.
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The cross of Tegelen
Filmmaker Hans Heijnen from Sittard followed a number of participants in the Passion Play for ‘The Cross of Tegelen’, a spectacle about the Passion of Christ that is performed every five years in Tegelen. This tradition goes back to 1931. Heijnen focuses not only on the participants, but also on the ‘hassle’ in the play: “The struggle between a group that wants to interpret the passion plays as authentically as possible and the other movement that goes for innovation Heijnen previously made much-discussed documentaries such as De Gert and Hermien Story and Bemelen guards.
Limburg Film Month at L1
The Limburg Film Festival is in Venlo from 21 to 24 April. It is the sixth time it is held. The full program and the nominated films can be found here† L1 also pays a lot of attention to Limburg films and the LFF throughout April, during the Limburg Film Month†