Rotterdam Classics: Ivens and Europoort

On the occasion of the release of the Joris Ivens DVD box, the relatively little-known but remarkable film Rotterdam-Europoort is presented, together with two other films that directly resulted from it.
After more than thirty years of work abroad, 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. With Ivens as a consultant, Tholen made Touch, for the port promotion council, next to Bacher (on the music of Bach) for the Adriaan Volker dredging company, whose history has been related to the development of the port. These personal impressions are, like Ivens’ film, also characterised by an innovative use of sound and vision.
André Stufkens will briefly go into the realisation of the DVD box, and Floris Paalman will introduce the three films. Rotterdam Classics is organised by Gemeentearchief Rotterdam and Lantaren/Venster.