Bert Haanstra

Hein Slotter, unpopular director of a pram factory, reluctantly agrees to celebrate his 25th anniversary. His only wish is that his successor and mentor, Slieps, gives a speech. Unfortunately Slieps is quite senile and only occasionally has a bright moment. Meanwhile, the party committee learns of a rumor concerning Slotter's younger days and plans to embarrass him during this festive occasion.

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In this film Bert Haanstra shows how important the formation of national parks is for the protection of nature.

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A small town doctor gets a visit from a former study-friend. He doesn't know this former surgeon has become a junkie that wants to steal his morphine.

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The film is a study of the differences and similarities between human and animal behaviour. The first part of the movie focuses on the behaviour of various animal species. The second half is about humans. In the original Dutch version writer Anton Koolhaas, who also wrote the script, provided the voice-over.

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A 12 minute film about the Evoluon [a conference centre and former science museum erected by the electronics and electrical company Philips at Eindhoven in the Netherlands], of which is thought that it was made in 1969 by Bert Haanstra or Pim Heytman. British TV viewers will probably remember this movie, since the BBC used it for test transmissions. In those transmissions a number of films was broadcast every day in the early seventies so technicians could adjust the new color TVs they installed at customers homes. —http://www.dse.nl/~evoluon/film-e.htm

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Documentary about Ajax Amsterdam in 1968.

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The Netherlands and water, they are inseparable from one another. Water in its soothing form, as a place of work and pleasure and as a source of threat and misery. Bert Haanstra thought it a great subject for a big cinema documentary and made The Voice of the Water. At the start, while the credits are still running, it is already apparent how remarkable and original he portrays the beauty of the landscape of the Dutch coastline. In the following ninety minutes we see numerous people that live, work and recreate on, by and in the water. Often they are being observed in a gentle humorous way that reminds us of The Human Dutch. Some people prefer to stay far away from all the wetness: the little boy having a swimming lesson, but who doesn’t dare to put his head under water, is forever imprinted on the memory of many of the viewers.

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Bert Haanstra paints a portrait of The Netherlands and the Dutch, in his own unparalleled manner. Partly with the aid of a hidden camera he observes people in the most diverse situations. He shows the unusual in the usual and the usual in the unusual. The harsh years of the post war era of reconstruction have passed and for most people life is better than before.

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A perfect, fast and hilarious montage. Using images from Artis (Amsterdam Zoo), Bert Haanstra shows that a couple of similarities can be discovered between human and animal. Particularly the manner in which human and ape are confronted with each other, is significant. The images speak for themselves, human voices or commentary is absent. The ironic music of Pim Jacobs does add an extra dimension to the whole. With regards to human and animal Haanstra limits himself for the time being to this short film, recorded with a hidden camera. Later on, in several big films, he would return to this subject.

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Kamiel steals the famous Brussels statue of Manneken Pis to impress his girlfriend Denise, the daughter of the man who is supposed to guard it. The Belgians, however, wrongly accuse the Dutch of having stolen their statue and hit back by stealing the statue of Hansje Brink.

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In the small Dutch village of Lagerheide, two members of the local brass band get into a fight, forcing the band to be split in two. The two hotheads and their followers are doing their utmost to sabotage each other’s attempts at becoming the band who will represent the village at the upcoming brass band competition.

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This short documentary, shot in the glass factories of Leerdam and Schiedam, demonstrates how glass blowers do their work. But thanks to the superbly edited ballet of working hands and the sequence of mechanical motions of the engines, is it especially a cinematic tour de force. That the industry can’t do without man’s involvement is shown in the scene where we hear the voice of Haanstra himself counting the bottles on the conveyor belt, until one bottle breaks…

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A 1958 documentary by Bert Haanstra that systematically documents the entire glassmaking process in Dutch factories, explaining both traditional craft and mechanized production techniques for an educational commission. (Note: Distinct from Haanstra’s short poetic film Glass (Glas), this version is didactic and process-oriented.)

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In Rembrandt, Haanstra shows that it is possible to make a fascinating film only with images from paintings. He had to travel though all over Europe to numerous museums and private owners in order to film the works of art. In the work of the great painter, Haanstra recognizes his particular interest in man as an individual human being, cutting straight through all the religious motives. And Haanstra also wants to see Rembrandt as an individual.

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Impressive, abstract dance film from Bert Haanstra.

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A Shell Film Unit documentary by Bert Haanstra examining humanity’s struggle against insect plagues, filmed across Egypt, Iraq, Kenya, Sudan, Tanganyika, and Uganda. The film combines scientific documentation with visceral imagery, including extreme close-ups of insects and an aerial sequence flying directly through a locust swarm. Framed within postwar scientific optimism, it presents pest control and pesticide technology as instruments of human survival, offering a stark, industrial counterpoint to Haanstra’s more lyrical documentaries.

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Short poetic documentary about the southern sea in the Netherlands.

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How the location and size of an oil field is measured. With animated explanations.

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Documentary on the first stage in oil exploration: the first drill.

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Documentary on oil exploration, the phase before drilling.

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Documentary on the genesis of oil in the Earth's crust.

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In 1952, Haanstra made Panta Rhei , another view of Holland through the eyes of a painter and filmmaker. Its poetic images of water, skies and clouds reflect Haanstra's own moods.

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Dutch sculpture in the late Middle Ages.

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In this short film Bert Haanstra gives his vision - from the water – of a tranquil Holland. During filming he held the camera upside down and afterwards put the images ‘up right’ again in the film. By doing this, we see the ‘usual’ waterfront, but transformed by the rippling of the water. In this way Mirror of Holland became a modern looking experimental film. However this did not devalue the Dutch sentiment regarding waterfronts that are so trusted to so many.

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Bert Haanstra's first film.

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Hein Slotter, unpopular director of a pram factory, reluctantly agrees to celebrate his 25th anniversary. His only wish is that his successor and mentor, Slieps, gives a speech. Unfortunately Slieps is quite senile and only occasionally has a bright moment. Meanwhile, the party committee learns of a rumor concerning Slotter's younger days and plans to embarrass him during this festive occasion.

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Documentary about Queen Juliana of The Netherlands in honor of her 70st birthday, including a short interview with the queen.

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In this film Bert Haanstra shows how important the formation of national parks is for the protection of nature.

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A small town doctor gets a visit from a former study-friend. He doesn't know this former surgeon has become a junkie that wants to steal his morphine.

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The film is a study of the differences and similarities between human and animal behaviour. The first part of the movie focuses on the behaviour of various animal species. The second half is about humans. In the original Dutch version writer Anton Koolhaas, who also wrote the script, provided the voice-over.

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Mr. Hulot is the head designer of the Altra Automotive Co. His latest invention is a newfangled camper car loaded with outrageous extra features. Along with the company's manager and publicity model, Hulot sets out from Paris with the intention of debuting the car at the annual auto show in Amsterdam. The going isn't easy, however, and the group encounters an increasingly bizarre series of hurdles and setbacks en route.

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Documentary about Ajax Amsterdam in 1968.

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The Netherlands and water, they are inseparable from one another. Water in its soothing form, as a place of work and pleasure and as a source of threat and misery. Bert Haanstra thought it a great subject for a big cinema documentary and made The Voice of the Water. At the start, while the credits are still running, it is already apparent how remarkable and original he portrays the beauty of the landscape of the Dutch coastline. In the following ninety minutes we see numerous people that live, work and recreate on, by and in the water. Often they are being observed in a gentle humorous way that reminds us of The Human Dutch. Some people prefer to stay far away from all the wetness: the little boy having a swimming lesson, but who doesn’t dare to put his head under water, is forever imprinted on the memory of many of the viewers.

Open details →

Bert Haanstra paints a portrait of The Netherlands and the Dutch, in his own unparalleled manner. Partly with the aid of a hidden camera he observes people in the most diverse situations. He shows the unusual in the usual and the usual in the unusual. The harsh years of the post war era of reconstruction have passed and for most people life is better than before.

Open details →

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Kamiel steals the famous Brussels statue of Manneken Pis to impress his girlfriend Denise, the daughter of the man who is supposed to guard it. The Belgians, however, wrongly accuse the Dutch of having stolen their statue and hit back by stealing the statue of Hansje Brink.

Open details →

In the small Dutch village of Lagerheide, two members of the local brass band get into a fight, forcing the band to be split in two. The two hotheads and their followers are doing their utmost to sabotage each other’s attempts at becoming the band who will represent the village at the upcoming brass band competition.

Open details →

This short documentary, shot in the glass factories of Leerdam and Schiedam, demonstrates how glass blowers do their work. But thanks to the superbly edited ballet of working hands and the sequence of mechanical motions of the engines, is it especially a cinematic tour de force. That the industry can’t do without man’s involvement is shown in the scene where we hear the voice of Haanstra himself counting the bottles on the conveyor belt, until one bottle breaks…

Open details →

A 1958 documentary by Bert Haanstra that systematically documents the entire glassmaking process in Dutch factories, explaining both traditional craft and mechanized production techniques for an educational commission. (Note: Distinct from Haanstra’s short poetic film Glass (Glas), this version is didactic and process-oriented.)

Open details →

Impressive, abstract dance film from Bert Haanstra.

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Short poetic documentary about the southern sea in the Netherlands.

Open details →

How the location and size of an oil field is measured. With animated explanations.

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Documentary on oil exploration, the phase before drilling.

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In this short film Bert Haanstra gives his vision - from the water – of a tranquil Holland. During filming he held the camera upside down and afterwards put the images ‘up right’ again in the film. By doing this, we see the ‘usual’ waterfront, but transformed by the rippling of the water. In this way Mirror of Holland became a modern looking experimental film. However this did not devalue the Dutch sentiment regarding waterfronts that are so trusted to so many.

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Myrte and the Demons is a hallucinatory trip through a world shot in chiaroscuro in which lugubrious forest spirits take human forms at night. Myrte, symbol of good, enters into battle with evil, aided by a colorful group of fantasy creatures, including the moon. Special: Bert Haanstra made his film debut as a cameraman on the set of Myrte en de Demonen.

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