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Nieuwe gronden (1933)
Character: N/A
The film is a documentary portraying a struggle as man tries to subdue nature. To prevent flooding and for purposes of land reclamation, the people of the Netherlands struggle and succeed in building a breaker, thereby eliminating the wild inland body of water once known as the Zuider Zee (now called Ijsselmeer).
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Le peuple et ses fusils (1970)
Character: N/A
Filmed in Laos in 1968, this four-part documentary examines the armed struggle against foreign intervention during the Indochina conflicts. The film focuses on the relationship between the population and guerrilla forces engaged in the war.
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Ciné-mafia (1980)
Character: N/A
Three pioneers of documentary filmmaking – Joris Ivens, Henri Storck, and the man behind the camera, Jean Rouch – recall the early days of the documentary genre and speak about their creative methods and sources of inspiration. This lively discussion between the directors is shot in cinéma vérité style and spliced with footage from their older films.
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Een oude vriend van het Chinese volk (2008)
Character: N/A
The Dutch documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens (1898-1989) received the honorary title 'Old friend of the Chinese people' from the Chinese communist regime. One of the reasons was the fact that in 1938 he gave the communists the camera that captured the first footage of Mao Zedong. Ivens made several films about China, notably the twelve-hour picture Hoe Yukong de bergen verzette (How Yukong Moved the Mountains), a tribute to Mao's Cultural Revolution, which China itself called a 'catastrophe' shortly after. Actor Jeroen Willems follows in Ivens' footsteps, in an attempt to understand why Ivens never reconsidered his positive coverage.
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Le Ciel, la terre (1966)
Character: Interviewer
This documentary presents the Vietnam War as seen from within Vietnam, focusing on civilian life, industrial and agricultural labor, and organized resistance under sustained aerial bombardment. Introduced by Bertrand Russell, the film situates the conflict within a broader history of anti-occupation struggles, drawing parallels to World War II resistance movements. Footage includes interviews with Vietnamese leaders, scenes of air defense, and mass political mobilization.
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Skoop (1964)
Character: Self
Portrait from 1964 of the editors of the film magazine Skoop, founded in 1963. Portrait from 1964 of the editors of the film magazine Skoop, founded in 1963. Pim de la Parra, Wim Verstappen, Rob du Mée, Nicolai van der Heyde, Rein Bloem, and Gied Jaspars give their opinion on Dutch film and how Skoop aims to improve the Dutch film climate. Joris Ivens also speaks, applauding the initiative of the young filmmakers/editors.
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De Wigwam (1912)
Character: Flaming Arrow
At the age of 14 Joris Ivens was fond of Cowboys and Indians stories, so he decided to invent one himself. He made a script and used a camera from his father's shop. This became his first film, Wigwam, with his own family as cast. Black Eagle, a bad Indian, kidnaps the daughter of a farmer's family. Flaming Arrow, played by the young director, saves the child from the kidnapper and brings her back to her family. No better conclusion than smoking a peace pipe. Although filmed in the spring of 1912, the film had a theatrical release in December 1915.
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Мир без игры (1966)
Character: Self
Documentary portrait of Dziga Vertov, father of documentary cinema.
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Havre (1986)
Character: le docteur Digitalis
Lili lives near the port of Le Havre. She is mourning her lover Pablo, who died leaving unfinished a video game he was developing for a Japanese trust. A young boy decides to take over the project, while Lili, guided by a mysterious figure called Doctor Digitalis, struggles with her grief and searches for meaning in his absence. The film blends reality and dreamlike visions against the backdrop of the docks and port landscapes.
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Grierson (1973)
Character: Self
A portrait of John Grierson, the first Canadian Government Film Commissioner and founder of the National Film Board in 1939. Interweaving archival footage, interviews with people who knew him and footage of Grierson himself, this film is a sensitive and informative portrait of a dynamic man of vision. Grierson believed that the filmmaker had a social responsibility, and that film could help a society realize democratic ideals. His absolute faith in the value of capturing the drama of everyday life was to influence generations of filmmakers all over the world. In fact, he coined the term 'documentary film'.
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Aah... Tamara (1965)
Character: N/A
A student is working part-time on a canal boat in Amsterdam and a young director wants to make a film about her.
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Memória Cubana (2010)
Character: Self (archive footage)
Through the files of Cuban cinema news program Noticieros ICAIC Latinoamericanos, the documentary shows the most relevant events of the second half of the 20th century as seen by the documentary filmmakers of the island. During three decades and under the general direction of Santiago Álvarez, these moviemakers witnessed almost everything: from the shivers of the Cold War to Bola de Nieve's piano solos; from the discovery of the killing fields in Cambodia to the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. In 2009, the original negatives of Noticieros ICAIC Latinoamericanos were declared part of the "world memory" by UNESCO.
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Une histoire de vent (1989)
Character: Self
It is an autobiographical fiction starring Ivens as an old man who has spent his life trying to "tame the wind and harness the sea" by capturing them on film.
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