J.C. Lamster, a captain in the Ordnance Survey of the army of the Dutch East-Indies, was hired in 1912 by the Colonial Institute, now the Royal Institute of the Tropics, to make photographs and record film sequences in the colony – although he limited himself to Java and Bali. The films were meant to be shown in the Netherlands. The newly founded institute used the recordings for screenings with spoken explanations ‘for the dissemination of knowledge about our colonies’ and to persuade the spectators to settle in the colony. A book and a DVD on Lamster will be presented on Friday Night June 4 in the Big Hall of the former Colonial Institute. In this morning’ s seminar the authors of the book, Janneke van Dijk, Jaap de Jonge and Nico de Klerk, also the editor of the DVD, will discuss the life and work of Lamster, showing and discussing his photographs and films. Indonesian filmmaker and anthropologist Aryo Danusiri, who studied old colonial films from the Dutch East-Indies, will give his view on Lamster, his time and his work.
Amsterdam | Friday June 4 | 14.30 hrs
Playing between Elephants
Dutch premiere
A year has passed since the tsunami hit the village of Geunting Timur in Aceh, and the UN-HABITAT plan to rebuild homes is finally underway. However, this also signals the beginning of the village head’s days of strife. In addition to managing the building-material and construction situation as well as aid money and supplies, he scrambles to deal with various village dramas such as accidents and massive fires. While he strives to keep the project moving, the local elders, villagers, construction workers, and UN staff act and speak as they will.
Aryo Danusiri (Indonesia) | Aceh, Indonesia | 2008 | 90 min | Acehnese, Indonesian, English spoken, English subtitles
Amsterdam | Friday June 4 | 20.30 hrs
Book and DVD presentation J.C. Lamster, een vroege filmer in Nederlands-Indië
J.C. Lamster, a captain in the Ordnance Survey of the army of the Dutch East-Indies, was hired in 1912 by the Colonial Institute, now the Royal Institute of the Tropics to make photographs and record film sequences in the colony –although he limited himself to Java and Bali. The films were meant to be shown in the Netherlands. The newly founded institute used the recordings for screenings with spoken explanations ‘for the dissemination of knowledge about our colonies’ and to persuade the spectators to settle in the colony. The book and the DVD on Lamster entitled J.C. Lamster, een vroege filmer in Nederlands-Indië (J.C. Lamster, an early filmmaker in the Dutch East-Indies) will be officially presented tonight. The book is published by KIT Publishers and written by Janneke van Dijk, Jaap de Jonge en Nico de Klerk; the DVD is published by the Eye Film Institute Netherlands. The institute has compiled a programme of films by Lamster for this evening, that will be presented in the original 35mm. format with 16 frames per second. The films will be accompanied by a small orchestra, consisting of: Martin de Ruiter – piano, Kay Sleking – guitar, Pien Straesser – vocals and Gregor Overtoom – violin. Michel Sluysmans will read the texts from the original documents meant to be read out aloud during the screenings.
