Hartmut Bitomsky has already made many important essayist films about film and history. Film essays that are remarkable for their deviating views on (film) history. The results of his investigations have been screened in Rotterdam over the years. During a unique presentation this year, attention will be focused more than ever on the progress towards a result, on seeking ways of looking at historical film material. In the weeks preceding the festival, Bitomsky has led a workshop at the Netherlands Film Museum in Amsterdam about the earliest documentary films. For this he has drawn on the museum’s rich and special collection, including a variety of non-fictional material from the 1910s that has been meticulously and beautifully restored (often in colour). Students of the Netherlands Film and Television Academy recorded the sessions on video, after which these video- recordings themselves also became the topic of debate. In Rotterdam Bitomsky and the participants in the workshop will show sections from this video material as well as a selection form the original old films. The presentation in Rotterdam, during which reactions will be provoked form the audience, will also be recorded on video. Bitomsky wants to incorporate all these difference stages into a later video essay on the earliest film history. Bitomsky’s project is an initiative of the Netherlands Film Museum, that is striving for an active and unconventional use for its cinematographic treasures.
