“Moving objects” are the subject of this film, a portrait of six Dutch theater groups that make performances with puppets and other objects. Manipulation and creating illusions is their profession. For them, the visual aspect of theater making is of great importance. These theater makers all have a special relationship with fine arts, they often use theater as a complement to express themselves. This form of theater has a great variety: from traditional to contemporary visual art events and everything in between. However, the starting point is always the same: bringing objects to life. By following theater makers with the camera - before, during and after the performance - we get to see things that otherwise we would never get to see: improvisations,
dilemmas, the carpentry and construction. The film confronts the audience with the ingenuity of the performers and explores the genre through observation and dialogue.
Festivals and Awards
San Francisco Golden Gate Film Festival (1992) - Special Jury Award
Leonard Retel Helmrich
Leonard Retel Helmrich is a Dutch cinematographer and filmmaker of Indonesian descent. He was born in 1959 in Tilburg after his family repatriated to the Netherlands. He graduated from the Dutch Film and Television Academy in 1986. Inspired by the French film critic André Bazin, he developed his own cinematic style “Single Shot Cinema” the essence of which is catching real life moments while they are happening in one continuous shot with a camera that is moving around the subject.
His trilogy consisting of films “Eye of the Day” (2001), “Shape of the Moon” (2004), and “Position Among the Stars” (2010) provides us with an insight into not only family dramas—gambling addictions, parent-child conflicts, money problems—but also global issues such as economic inequality, religious conflict, and the rise of modernity in traditional societies.
He has taught masterclasses in various film schools around the world. A number of festivals have celebrated a retrospective of his films.
Selected Filmography
The Phoenix Mystery / Het Phoenix mysterie (1990)
Moving Objects (1991)
Eye of the Day / De stand van de zon (2001)
Shape of the Moon / Stand van de maan (2004)
Position among the Stars / Stand van de Sterren (2010)
Raw Herring / Hollandse Nieuwe (2013)
Cinematographers: Peter Gray, Leonard Retel Helmrich Music: Lauran van der Sanden Sound: Franklin Liesdek Salomons Film Editing: Denise Janzée Producer: Hetty Naaijkens–Retel Helmrich
Production: Scarabeefilms
The Netherlands, 1991, 50 min.