…and more.
Samuel
Samuel (2023) - 3:08 min
The Poem ‘Samuel’ is part of Mischa Andriessen’s book ‘Winterlaken’ from 2019. The poems in this book form a web of connections to add extra layers of possible interpretation. Now that the poem is on its own in this short film, Andriessen and Brentjes searched for new ways to add those layers. A story about a mother and her son and their bond that is as fluid as the water in which she last saw him.
Poem ‘SAMUEL’ by Mischa Andriessen
English translation by David Colmer
Narrated by Emma T (Stemzoeker)
Adapted and directed by Mischa Andriessen / Arjan Brentjes
Animation and music by Arjan Brentjes
This film was supported by the Dutch Foundation for Literature
Since his poetry book debut in 2008, Mischa Andriessen has had a successful writing career in the Netherlands. In recent years he has been experimenting with combining his writing with other art forms.
So It Goes
So It Goes (2019) - 1:00 min
In 1940 Truus lives in Rotterdam with her mother Aartje. In 2019, her grandson Arjan wonders what the first sunny days of May 1940 look like for them. He makes a reconstruction and concludes that there’s little he can add to it.
Director’s statement:
This film is a bit outside of my usual creations. It is made with some material that I had lying around for a while, a small piece of family history.
A few years ago I saw photos of a pre-war part of Rotterdam that reminded me of Amsterdam. I then started making a digital reconstruction of what that must have looked like for my grandmother and great-grandmother. Initially I considered making a video installation with this, but the ideas so far were too big to implement.
In the course of 2019 I remembered the recurring sentence, "So it goes" from Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, a book about the bombing of Dresden. I thought that this phrase could be the starting point for a very short film. I can make a more or less realistic reconstruction and look at it in wonder, but I can't add much else about the course of things, the meaning of it, or how the world came across to grandma Truus and her mother Aartje. And I can't ask them anymore. So it goes.
Director, script, animation, music, editing: Arjan Brentjes
Narrated by Bart van der Schaaf
Also available as Dutch spoken 'Zo gaat dat'
Screenings
Apr 2021 - Myrtle Beach International Film Festival, Myrtle Beach, USA
Feb 2021 - Papaya Rocks Film Festival, London, UK
Oct 2020 - Wallachia International Film Festival, Wallachia, Romania
Sep 2020 - ISFF Short Form, Gornji Milanovac, Serbia
Sep 2020 - Arouca Film Festival, Arouca, Portugal
Apr 2020 - Independent Days International Filmfest, Karlsruhe, Germany
Jan 2020 - International Film Festival Rotterdam, RTM 2020, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Dec 2019 - Oruro Film Festival, Oruro, Bolivia
Nov 2019 - Braunschweig International Film Festival, Braunschweig, Germany
Nov 2019 - Just A Minute, Toronto!, Toronto, Canada
Oct 2019 - SEFF, Szczecin Film Festival, Szczecin, Poland
Sep 2019 - Filmfest Bremen, Bremen, Germany
July 2019 - Galway Film Fleadh - One Minute Film Section, Galway, Ireland
Tempo
Tempo (2016) - 1:00 min
A man tries to relax on a bench in the park, but he’s constantly bothered by the latest innovations. As his life slows down, technology speeds up. And that whole story wrapped in exactly one minute.
Director, script, animation, music, editing: Arjan Brentjes
-Best One Minute Film at Galway Film Fleadh, Galway, Ireland (July 2017)
-Finalist Best Animation at Sci-On! Festival, Reno, USA (June 2017)
-Special Jury Mention at Cineminutos, Córdoba, Argentina (April 2017)
-3rd place Professional Short at RAW Science Film Festival, Los Angeles, USA (December 2016)
-Best One Minute Film at FICME, Medellín, Colombia (November 2016)
Screenings
Jul 2018 - Miami Independent Film Festival, Annual award show, Miami, USA
Dec-2017 -Video Babel, Cusco, Peru
Oct 2017 - Multivision Animation Arts Festival, st. Petersburg, Russia
Oct 2017 - Montecatini International Short Film Festival,Montecatini, Italy
Oct 2017 - Cineminutos at Anima 2017, Córdoba, Argentine
Oct 2017 - FIC ESMI 2017, Allianza Francesa, Buenos Aires, Argentine
Sep 2017 - CyBorg Film Festival, traveling festival, Italy
Sep 2017 - 4th ISFF Short Form, Gornji Milanovac, Serbia
Sep 2017 - One Minute Film at Culture Night, Galway, Ireland
Sep 2017 - Life Screenings - One Minute Film, Orlando, USA
Sep 2017 - World Festival of Animated Film, Varna, Bulgaria
Aug 2017 - Animaze, Montreal, Canada
Aug 2017 - Open-Air Filmfest Weiterstadt, Germany
Jul 2017 - Cerdanya Film Festival, Cerdanya, Spain
Jul 2017 - Siciliambiente, San Vito Lo Capo, Italy
Jul 2017 - Cartoon Club, Rimini, Italy
Jul 2017 - Galway Film Fleadh - One Minute Film Section, Galway, Ireland
Jul 2017 - 300 Seconds, finalists screening, Toronto, Canada
Jul 2017 - Small Wonders, Tiny film exhibition, Detroit, USA
Jun 2017 - ISFF, Detmold, Germany
Jun 2017 - River Film festival, Padua, Italy
Jun 2017 - FICSAN, San Roque, Spain
Jun 2017 - Mersey ComicCon Indie Film Fest, Liverpool, UK
Jun 2017 - Shorts@Fringe, Madalena, Azores-Portugal
Jun 2017 - Sci-On! Festival, Reno, USA
May 2017 - International Motion Festival, Nicosia, Cyprus
May 2017 - Prokuplje Short Film Festival, Prokuplje, Serbia
May 2017 - Golden Kuker, Sofia, Bulgaria
Apr 2017 - Unrestricted View Film Festival, London, UK
Apr 2017 - Liberté je te filme, Paris, France
Apr 2017 - Video Festival Imperia, Imperia, Italy
Apr 2017 - Cineminutos, Córdoba, Argentine
Mar 2017 - Festival de Cine de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain
Mar 2017 - Tlanchana Fest, Metepec, Mexico
Mar 2017 - Longwood Animation Film Festival, Farmville, USA
Mar 2017 - CineGlobe, Cern, Genève, Switzerland
Mar 2017 - Athens AnimFest, Athens, Greece
Mar 2017 - Shortcutz, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Feb 2017 - El día se hace corto, Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela
Feb 2017 - FestMedallo, Medellín, Colombia
Feb 2017 - Love Your Shorts Film Festival, Sanford, USA
Feb 2017 - Screen Short Fest, Calcutta, India
Jan 2017 - Miami Independent Film Festival, January selection, Miami, USA
Dec 2016 - RAW Science Film Festival, Los Angeles, USA
Dec 2016 - Eindhovens Filmfestival, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Dec 2016 - Pentedattilo Film Festival, Pentedattilo, Italy
Dec 2016 - I Filmmaker Film Festival, Marbella, Spain
Nov 2016 - Largo Film Awards, November session, Switzerland
Nov 2016 - Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest, November session, Bucharest, Romania
Nov 2016 - Animation Marathon, Athens, Greece
Nov 2016 - Kraken Con Animation Film Festival, Oakland, USA
Nov 2016 - FICME, Medellín, Colombia
Oct 2016 - Ouchy film awards, Summer selection, Lausanne, Switzerland
Oct 2016 - Short to the Point, September selection, Bucharest, Romania
Next Man
(trailer)
Next Man (2016) - 8:55 min
And what if the next phase in our evolution turns out to be a lazy bum?
In the early 1970s, the pollution has become so serious that a group of scientists decides to lock themselves in a research bunker. They are working on the creation of our evolutionary successors, which must help us make the earth habitable again. The first two specimens seem to need some tweaking in the work ethics department...
Cast: Adam Buchanan, Bart van der Schaaf, Joss Wyre, Claire King
Director, script, camera, art direction, editing: Arjan Brentjes
Co-director: Bart van der Schaaf
Costumes, styling: Caroline Schuller tot Peursum
Music: Arjan Brentjes and Ivo Maassen
Set assistent: Inge Schuller tot Peursum
Sound recording / studio management: Paul van Stempvoort
Prop construction assistent: Helma Kor
Rehearsal location and catering: Chef Ernst
Additional studio crew: Barto Nijenhuis, Martijn Veldhoen, Sjors Logister
Technical support: HD-Videoproductions
Screenings
Oct 2016 - Sapporo Short Fest, Sapporo, Japan
Aug 2016 - Open-Air Filmfest Weiterstadt, Germany
May 2016 - Shortcutz, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Apr 2016 - Radio City film festival, Valencia, Spain
Apr 2016 - 8 Cortos Rodinia, Valladolid, Spain
Glass
(trailer)
Glass (2013) - 15:00 min
Glass divides the inside world from the outside world. But, is there always a clear distinction between outside and inside? Glass is almost invisible. And if it is visible, it can work like a mirror. You will see another interior from the inside, or another exterior from the outside. Sometimes everything can become so confused that you no longer know whether you’re inside or out.
Cast: Anne-May de Lijser, Bart van der Schaaf, Miguel Stigter
Director, script, camera, art direction, editing: Arjan Brentjes
Music: Diederik Rijpstra
Production assistance, styling: Caroline Schuller tot Peursum
Location styling, catering: Studio Ernst
Technical support: Martijn Veldhoen
Audio mix: Andras Fictoor
Screenings
Jun 2014 - Cortos de Rodinia, Valladolid, Spain
Nov 2013 - Bideodromo, Bilbao, Spain
Oct 2013 - FIC Hermosillo, Hermosillo, Mexico
Il était une fois un Artiste
Il était une fois un Artiste (2011) - 6:34 min
In a flooded city two existentialist artists climb out of the water. Will they adapt to the situation?
Cast: Arjan Brentjes, Ivo Maassen
Director, script, animation, music, editing: Arjan Brentjes
Camera, light, sound: Andras Fictoor
Screenings
Feb 2015 - Gekleurde herinnering, CODA museum, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Nov 2013 - Cologne OFF at ALTER-NATIVE 21, Tirgu-Mures, Romania
Nov 2013 - Golden Orchid, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Aug 2013 - FICCHT, Toluca, Mexico
July 2013 - Linoleum, Moscow, Russia
July 2013 - Cologne OFF at Ares, Syracusa, Italy
July 2013 - Cologne OFF at Festival Miden, Kalamata, Greece
May 2013 - Cologne OFF at CCA, Tblisi, Georgia
Apr 2013 - Cologne OFF at Be There, Corfu, Greece
Mar 2013 - Cologne OFF at IMF, Nicosia, Cyprus
Feb 2013 - Ascona Film Festival, Ascona, Switzerland
Feb 2013 - Cologne OFF at Aferro Gallery, Newark, USA
Feb 2013 - Cologne OFF at CEC Bhimtal, India
Feb 2013 - FECICAM, Ciudad Real, Spain
Dec 2012 - Videomedeja, Novi Sad, Serbia
Dec 2012 - TISFF, Thessaloniki, Greece
Dec 2012 - Cologne OFF at Digital Marrakech, Morroco
Dec 2012 - Almeria en corto, Almeria, Spain
Oct 2012 - Cologne OFF at Banjaluka 2012, Bosnia Hercegovina
Oct 2012 - Cologne OFF at Fine Art Film, Szolnok, Hungary
Sep 2012 - Luksuz Film Festival, Krsko, Slovenia
July 2012 - Avanca Film Festival, Avanca, Portugal
June 2012 - Crosstalk, Budapest, Hungary
June 2012 - ISFF, Detmold, Germany
Apr 2012 - Mediawave, Komarom, Hungary
Apr 2012 - Lanterna, Mexico City
The 21st Century
The 21st Century (2010) - 3:30 min
In the style of 1950's propaganda films Dr. De Vries talks to us about present day developments, and the near future of mankind.
Director, script, actor, animation, music, editing: Arjan Brentjes
Camera: Klaas Pek
Screenings
June 2012 - Filmfest Rejected, Innsbruck, Austria
Nov 2011 - Filmets, Badalona, Spain
Oct 2011 - Simultan, Timisoara, Romania
Sep 2011 - ContraVision, Berlin, Germany
Sep 2011 - Luksuz Film Festival,Krsko, Slovenia
July 2011 - Crosstalk, Budapest, Hungary
June 2011 - ISFF, Detmold, Germany
June 2011 - Mediawave, Budapest, Hungary
Feb 2011 - Director's Lounge, Berlin, Germany
Dec 2010 - Pixxelpoint, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Nov 2010 - ZwergWERK, Oldenburg, Germany
Oct 2010 - Linoleum, Moscow, Russia
Before 2010
Belgrade (2009) - 24 min
Just outside his studio, in 1950's Amsterdam, comic book artist Arjan Brentjes is kidnapped and transported to present day Belgrade. There he's taken for his own cartoon character Agent de Vries and held responsible for the NATO bombings of 1999.
Cast: Arjan Brentjes, Ivo Maassen, Neda Nikolić & others
Director, script, music, art direction, animation, editing: Arjan Brentjes
Camera: Igor Bošnjak & others
Technical support: Andras Fictoor
Production Belgrade shootings: Dana Stojković
Screenings
Sep 2011 - Donumenta, Regensburg, Germany
Mar 2010 - Doc. and Short Film Festival, Belgrade, Serbia
Sep 2009 - NamaTREba festival, Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Meanwhile in Kaderstan... (2009)
Multi channel video installation
Exhibitions
Sep-Nov 2009 - sound:frame festival, New York, USA
Mar-Apr 2009 - sound:frame festival, Vienna, Austria
Mission: to Kaderstan (2008) - 4:00 min
Cast, styling: Arjan Brentjes, Caroline Schuller tot Peursum, Nancy Degger
Director, music, animation: Arjan Brentjes
Screenings
Dec 2010 - Pixxelpoint, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
May 2009 - Naoussa International Film festival, Naoussa, Greece
Apr-May 2008 - Een schim van gisteren, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Aliens! in Kaderstan (2008) - 6:02 min
Cast: Ivo Maassen, Arjan Brentjes
Director, music, animation: Arjan Brentjes
Camera: Ruth Verraes
Screenings
Dec 2010 - Pixxelpoint, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Dec 2008 - Alternative Film/Video festival, Belgrade, Serbia
Apr-May 2008 - Een schim van gisteren, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Feb-Mar 2008 - Een schim van gisteren, Brummen, Netherlands