Rotterdam

Joris Ivens, Rotterdam Europoort, 1966

In 1964, Joris Ivens was asked by Rotterdam City Council to make a film promoting the largest harbor in the world. For Ivens, this commission was a welcome opportunity to strengthen the vulnerable relationship with his homeland and reconnect with 'Dutch' themes, like the Flying Dutchman. Meant as a publicity film, ROTTERDAM EUROPOORT (1966) became a skilful, artistic documentary with fictional scenes and incorporating new camera techniques, so that it turned out to be useless for publicity. Therefore, the disappointed producer Joop Landré turned to Tom Tholen, the sound man on 'Rotterdam Europoort', to revisit the locations and produce an almost complete remake, even excluding the artistic elements.

After more than thirty years of work abroad, Joris Ivens was invited by the municipality to make a film in Rotterdam again, where he had shot his well-known The Bridge (1928). Rotterdam-Europoort, whose production took two years, became a layered hybrid of fact and fiction, poetry and legend - a modern interpretation of The Flying Dutchman. Not devoid of critical remarks, it was a challenging way to promote the port. Besides its imagery, the film is also special for its sound, and Ivens subsequently encouraged soundman Tom Tholen to direct films himself.

Rotterdam Europoort [1966] part1.rar
Rotterdam Europoort [1966] part1.rar
Rotterdam Europoort [1966] part1.rar

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