Jaap Mees - The primrose place
10:00, 2006, NarrativeDirectorJaap MeesProducerJaap Mees
CountryNetherlandsEdition2006
< overview
My name is Jaap Mees, I’m an Independent filmmaker, who made several documentaries and a couple of short fiction films. I studied journalism in Tilburg and filmmaking in London.
Why filmmaking
?
Since I saw Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin, I was so touched by that film that by that moment I knew then that I wanted to make films.
Your film is about...
The Primrose Place is about prejudices. In the story, an adaptation of a short story by H.E.Bates, the woman thinks the man she meets in the orchard is drunk or mad. He happens to be a noble man who does everything he can to burry the ashes of his dead wife.
Financing your movie?
The film was partly financed by Alan Tompson, a friend who did the production and was sound recorder too. The actors were paid.
New Media; a challenge for film makers?
New media especially Internet is a big invention. I distribute two of my documentaries, Inside The Circle and Off The Beaten Track, via Irish Bookin Minneapolis.
Internet will become an important distribution instrument, especially for non-main stream Independents.
Do your films have style, just as some painters have?
It depends on the subject, all films are different. But they all deal with the human condition and tries to be lively, human and substantial. In most of them music plays an important part.
Influences?
Most inspired by The French Nouvelle Vague (Truffaut, Rohmer, Godard, Rivette etc.) and Italian Neo Realism( De Sica, Rosselini), spiritual filmmakers like Bergman, Bresson, Kieslowski, Tarkovski and Sokoerov.
Which film related websites do you frequent?
NFTVM( editor) and Cinema.nl
Individual film making or co-operation
?
I am graduated from The London International film School in script and directing.
For me the casting is one of the most essential parts of filmmaking. According to Kieslovski the script, the casting and the editing are the most important. I enjoy working together in a strong team with like-minded people. The stronger the connection between the people in the crew and cast, the better the result, I think.
Your plans and dreams...
Making feature fiction films and more documentaries. I’m working on a scenario of a first feature now with a co-writer.
Did you ever have another ambition in life than to become a filmmaker?
Maybe to become a psychologist, but as a filmmaker you are partly that anyway.
Digital or classic?
Digital, you can’t stop progress. 35mm probably looks better, but is very labour intensive to make. Now the equipment is so much lighter, more mobile and cheaper too. I t makes you more flexible and free as a filmmaker.
< overview
< Artists interviews
CountryNetherlandsEdition2006
< overview
Interview
Who is Jaap Mees?My name is Jaap Mees, I’m an Independent filmmaker, who made several documentaries and a couple of short fiction films. I studied journalism in Tilburg and filmmaking in London.
Why filmmaking
?
Since I saw Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin, I was so touched by that film that by that moment I knew then that I wanted to make films.
Your film is about...
The Primrose Place is about prejudices. In the story, an adaptation of a short story by H.E.Bates, the woman thinks the man she meets in the orchard is drunk or mad. He happens to be a noble man who does everything he can to burry the ashes of his dead wife.
Financing your movie?
The film was partly financed by Alan Tompson, a friend who did the production and was sound recorder too. The actors were paid.
New Media; a challenge for film makers?
New media especially Internet is a big invention. I distribute two of my documentaries, Inside The Circle and Off The Beaten Track, via Irish Bookin Minneapolis.
Internet will become an important distribution instrument, especially for non-main stream Independents.
Do your films have style, just as some painters have?
It depends on the subject, all films are different. But they all deal with the human condition and tries to be lively, human and substantial. In most of them music plays an important part.
Influences?
Most inspired by The French Nouvelle Vague (Truffaut, Rohmer, Godard, Rivette etc.) and Italian Neo Realism( De Sica, Rosselini), spiritual filmmakers like Bergman, Bresson, Kieslowski, Tarkovski and Sokoerov.
Which film related websites do you frequent?
NFTVM( editor) and Cinema.nl
Individual film making or co-operation
?
I am graduated from The London International film School in script and directing.
For me the casting is one of the most essential parts of filmmaking. According to Kieslovski the script, the casting and the editing are the most important. I enjoy working together in a strong team with like-minded people. The stronger the connection between the people in the crew and cast, the better the result, I think.
Your plans and dreams...
Making feature fiction films and more documentaries. I’m working on a scenario of a first feature now with a co-writer.
Did you ever have another ambition in life than to become a filmmaker?
Maybe to become a psychologist, but as a filmmaker you are partly that anyway.
Digital or classic?
Digital, you can’t stop progress. 35mm probably looks better, but is very labour intensive to make. Now the equipment is so much lighter, more mobile and cheaper too. I t makes you more flexible and free as a filmmaker.
< overview
< Artists interviews
