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Filmfactory participant Lucia Dondorp wins Golden Calf
(Monday, October 11st 2010)
At last year’s Filmfactory Lucia Dondorp was inspired by Rutger’s mantra of ‘you don’t need anything other than guts to make a film’ and the lesson paid off; after the masterclass Lucia went on to develop a short film of her own. That film, De maan is kapot (The Moon is Broken) was awarded the Golden Calf – the top award - at this year's Netherlands Film Festival.
When Lucia Dondorp began last year’s Filmfactory she already had a lot of experience as a producer of music videos and commercials. She entered the masterclass with a particular mission: to see if she could make the switch from commercials to drama. “It was a deliberate choice to enter the filmfactory. The whole experience inspired me to just go for it. Rutger often said that when it comes to filmmaking, you just have to follow your guts. That’s essentially the spirit you need to make a film. Another very true thing Rutger said at the start was that hardly anybody makes money from making films, so you'd better make sure you do it with your friends. We made De maan is kapot with the support of friends and family, and it is a wonderful experience when everybody is on the page together.
After the Rutger Hauer Filmfactory I went to visit a couple of international festivals with our factory-shorts. The diversity of films shown at the I’ve Seen Films-festival in Milan, for example, was another inspiration. It confirmed my belief that I could make the transition from commercials to film.
A personal friend of mine, a talented copy writer with zero screenplay experience, shared an idea for a short film with me. Together, in weekly meetings, we developed the project. Because the story lacked a dramatic element, my partner, the director Arno Dierickx, also got involved. One of the most complex things about this production is that part of it is animated, or rotoscoped to be precise. When we started shooting I was eight months pregnant, so when it came to the post production it was Arno who had to cover for me on production talks with the Chinese animation studio. We like to say that we became the proud parents of two children this year: a boy called Pablo and a short film. Arno had already won a Golden Calf a couple of years ago, but this one is really for the two of us. That’s why it's not kept hidden in his study; this one stand prominently on our dining table in the living room! I’m now in the process of entering De maan is kapot for other international film festivals, and am also in talks with sales agents. I’m very curious what Rutger himself thinks of De maan is kapot; I will send him a copy shortly.”
In the meantime, everybody can check out this remarkable and very moving short here |
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