This session will be one of our most musical ones! We will receive special guests: director NORBERT TER HALL (A’DAM-E.V.A., &ME), and the music composers of his upcoming film THE PROMISE OF PISA (DE BELOFTE VAN PISA). Norbert invited, from his music composing team, JASPER BOEKE, who had previously collaborated with him on A'DAM-E.V.A.’s score, and RUI REIS MAIA, former producer from AFROJACK’s team. They composed an eclectic and complex soundtrack for his upcoming film. In this session, we will try to better understand their creative process for this soundtrack and how they work together. We will also take this opportunity to find out more about THE PROMISE OF PISA which will premiere in cinemas two days after our session!
NORBERT TER HALL
Director/screenwriter Norbert ter Hall lives and works in Amsterdam — the city, which in all its diversity, is the source of inspiration for much of his work.
The TV series A’DAM - E.V.A. (Amsterdam and many others) shows, in an innovative way, how everyone, consciously or unconsciously, is connected to each other. March 2011, Season 1 of the series, written by husband Robert Alberdingk Thijm, was broadcasted for the first time. Two more seasons followed in 2014 and 2016. The series won many national prizes for Best Screenplay, Best Series and Best Director. The expert panel of one of the biggest Dutch newspapers, proclaims the program “the best Dutch drama series of the past 30 years”. In France, at the Festival de la Fiction TV, A’DAM-E.V.A. won the "Best International Drama Series" award.
Ter Hall's feature film & ME (2013), written by himself, received 4-star reviews and won a Golden Calf for Best Cinematography.
In addition to many youth series, he also directed the drama series WALTZ and MADAM MINISTER. Both series were selected as one of the ten Best Drama Series worldwide at the Cologne Conference. Norbert was also first-director (and responsible for the directing concept of the entire series) for “T SCHAEP MET DE VIJF POOTEN”. The second season of this popular series received the prestigious National Critics’ award.
Two new feature films from Norbert are coming to the cinema this fall. First, in October, THE PROMISE OF PISA (DE BELOFTE VAN PISA), written by Robert Alberdingk Thijm, after the bestseller by Mano Bouzamour. The film shows how protagonist Sam, with lust for life as his weapon, frees himself from the expectations and prejudices of society and his family. In November comes MI VIDA, written by Roos Ouwehand. In the film, the retired hairdresser named Lou has to learn to choose for herself, after a lifetime of caring for others.
RUI REIS MAIA
Storytelling through music is one of the things that Portuguese-born, Amsterdam-based producer Rui Reis Maia excels at. Growing up in the South-East part of Amsterdam, he was surrounded by different types of musical influences. Outside of his parental house, he was a big fan of hip-hop and hip-hop culture. He started to teach himself everything there was to know about music and producing. He taught himself to play the piano, write songs, make beats, and all the technical aspects around producing.
Rui got in touch with DJ Apster through mutual friends, and together, they produced a remix of Afrojack’s track ‘Keep Our Love Alive’ together. This was a pivotal point in Rui’s career. Afrojack picked up the remix and Rui was introduced to him. Not long after, he was offered to sign with Afrojack’s label, Wall Recordings, an opportunity he gladly accepted. Under Wall Recordings, he released Million Times, which hit the Dutch Top 40 charts, got over a million views on YouTube, and was performed on the Dutch television show RTL Late Night. After almost 3 years and with Afrojack’s blessing, he left Wall Recordings to focus on his own path.
Later, Rui started working with Saman Amini, a respected Dutch actor, theatre-maker and musician, composing and producing music for his theatre shows. The result was the successful ‘Samenloop van Omstandigheden’. The show was considered the second-best theatre performance of 2017. ‘In het hol van de leeuw’ followed, and once more their collaboration was well received by both critics and audiences.
During the showing of ‘Samenloop van Omstandigheden,’ he was invited by director Norbert ter Hall (A’DAM – E.V.A) to write music for his upcoming film THE PROMISE OF PISA (DE BELOFTE VAN PISA).
JASPER BOEKE
Right along with a successful acting career, and more than 40 credits under his belt, Jasper Boeke has always written and performed music.
For his own plays, for bands, and for a decade in film, scoring for film became his main activity after acclaimed TV series A’DAM-E.V.A.. and RAMSES. His background as a professionally trained actor makes him stand apart from other composers: he breaks down a scene or a script into dramatic layers instead of looking for music right away. What is really happening with the characters in a scene? What motivates them? How does the music complement that?
Learning new instruments and musical styles is part of the process, what is needed for a score is never limited to his known repertoire. Every project is a chance to learn something new, but always building on an ever-deepening understanding of the power of music.
In our OFFICIAL SELECTION, you can watch and meet the teams of:
HOW COUNTRIES FIGHT THEIR WARS
Directed by Thomas Loopstra | 02:04 | Animation | PREMIERE
The title says it all.
NOBU
Directed by Sarah Blok | 09:20 | Documentary
NOBU is a personal portrait of a lighthearted Japanese immigrant. NOBU tries to add humour and optimism to the Dutch debate on integration.
SEPTEMBER WINNER: Screening and Announcement of our JURY TEAM favourite movie in SEPTEMBER. This is the FIFTH FILM to be nominated for Mr Zee Best Film and to join our international tour for the Audience Award.