JURI FERRI
FILMMAKER
L'OLANDESA
1965. Katrien moves from the Netherlands to the province of Bergamo, her husband's homeland, where she clashes with local traditions.
Short film, currently in post-production
Shot in 2023 in Spirano and Ghisalba, Province of Bergamo, Italy
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SOCIAL MEDIA
MAIN CAST
Katrien: Joy Verberk
Sergio: Fabio Manenti
Don Anselmo: Walter Tiraboschi
MAIN CREW
Writer and Director: Juri Ferri
Producers: Luca Ferrara, Beppe Manzi, Erika Ponti
Director of Photography: Piero Cioffi
Production Designer: Andrea Vigoni
Costume Designer: Bianca Lazar
Editor: Marco Ferrara
Sound Designer: Nico Palermo
Music: Enrico Ferri
Story
1965. Katrien is a young Dutch woman who moved to the birthplace of her husband Sergio, in the province of Bergamo. She struggles to adjust to life in the small town, also having to face the distrust of the fellow villagers towards a foreigner. Living so far from her family often makes her feel lonely: she finds herself having to raise her two-year-old son, Dante, with little support. Sergio, seen by many in the village as a hothead, struggles to find employment. He is too absorbed in his own problems to understand the difficulties faced by his wife. Their already turbulent relationship turns sour when Sergio decides to ask the parish priest, Don Anselmo, to help him find a job. The priest sets a condition: Dante must be baptized within the Catholic Church, something Katrien has always opposed. After Sergio decides to comply to the priest's request, Katrien begins to question her choices and her future with Sergio.
Director's Statement
Although entirely fictional, L'olandesa is inspired by the experiences of my grandmother, who moved from the Netherlands to a small town in the province of Bergamo in the 1960s, after marrying my grandfather. Her stories inspired me to explore how a couple like them could find a way to live in those years, in a rural environment that was still closed to the outside world. The story of Sergio and Katrien fascinates me because they have to confront both the internal tensions of finding a balance between their two different cultures, and the external pressures that push them to conform to the culture around them. The heart of the story centers on two people who must rediscover how to rely on each other: they will have to learn that the harmony and affection that unite them are stronger than the conflicts and expectations that want to drive them apart.
Behind the scenes
Press
Ciak, qui si gira "L'olandesa"
Report and interview on the local evening news broadcast on "BergamoTV", 28h August 2023 (in Italian)
Watch the video/Guarda il video
The Team
Born and raised in the province of Bergamo, he studied in the Netherlands before obtaining an MA in filmmaking the London Film School in London. His first short UB-13 (2018), shot in studio on 35mm, premiered at the legendary Chinese Theater in Hollywood during the 2018 HollyShorts Film Festival and screened at the Imperial War Museum in London. His second short Meidagen (2019), inspired by a family story and set in the Netherlands during WWII, premiered at Film by the Sea in Vlissingen and has since been shown and won awards at festivals from all over the world, including in Italy, Portugal, Australia and Brazil. In December 2022 he presented the documentary short Daniele Maffeis: Still Plenty of Music Within, on the figure of the Bergamasque composer Daniele Maffeis, during a special event in the Sala Alfredo Piatti in Bergamo.
After various experiences abroad, L'olandesa is the occasion for him to tell a story set in his homeland.
Juri Ferri
Writer and Director
Luca Ferrara
Producer
A graduate of Westminster Film School, he co-founded and directed the Brixia Film Festival (BRIFF). He works as an independent director, screenwriter and producer of short films and commercials, but also as an assistant in the production and distribution of feature films and documentaries. His recent works include writing and directing the science fiction short film Helium (2019), the 16mm action thriller Thieves (2019) and the Lovecraftian science fiction film set during World War II From Beyond (2023). He produced the London Film School graduation short Lo Sguardo in 2021.
ERIKA PONTI
Producer
After specializing in cinema and television at IULM, in 2007 she became co-artistic director of the international short film festival Cortopotere ShortFilmFestival (until 2010), in charge of documentary selection, fundraising and communication. Co-founder of Oki Doki Film and Oki Doki Rent, she has produced various documentaries including Gli Anni e i Giorni (2012), L'aria sul Viso (2018) and Il profumo dei fiori di carta (2019), and several short films such as Ferine (2019), previewed at Venice Critics' Week and winner of numerous international awards, Dove si va da qui (2020), 18 Marzo (2023), which premiered at the Bergamo Film Meeting, Il rimbalzo del gatto morto (2022) presented at Alice nella Città. On the desk, still on paper, the screenplay under development Io, Tommaso e la ragazza mela, finalist for the Solinas Prize.
BEPPE MANZI
Producer
He has been writing and directing since 2008. As a screenwriter, he was awarded at the 70th and 71st Venice International Film Festival (in 2003 and 2004 with the short films I Liv you and Rose rosse) and co-wrote Gaymers, an episode in the collective feature film Feisbum (2009) with Pietro Ragusa, Andrea Bosca and Caterina Guzzanti. As a director, after collecting several award-winning short films, he made his debut with the feature film Gli Anni E i Giorni (2012). In 2015 the screenplay Io, Tommaso e la ragazza mela written together with Mariano Di Nardo was a finalist for the Solinas Prize. Since 2010 he has directed music videos and commercials for many TV and digital platforms, and continues to write and direct short films, as well as produce shorts and documentaries directed by other directors (Ferine, Dove si va da qui, Il rimbalzo del gatto morto). Founding partner of Oki Doki Film - a film and television production company - and of Oki Doki Rent - a film technical rental company, he recently wrote and directed the short film 18 marzo, presented at the Bergamo Film Meeting.
ANDREA VIGONI
Production Designer
After graduating in communication at the University of Milan, he moved to the United Kingdom to complete his studies at the London Film School. Over the next few years he worked in London in the art department for feature films and television productions, as well as designing various short films in Europe and Asia. In 2020 the short film directed by Rafael Manuel Filipiniana, for which he was production and costume designer, wins the Silver Bear in the short section of the Berlin International Film Festival. Recent works (as assistant art director and art director) include the independent feature film Cottontail directed by Patrick Dickinson, the second season of the series I Diavoli for Sky Italia and the series Criminal Record for Apple TV+.
PIERO CIOFFI
Director of Photography
Director of photography, he divides his time between the United Kingdom and Italy. He's a London Film School alumnus, where he's now back as a part time visiting lecturer. His most recent work has won accolades at the Berlinale and Encounters - including a NAHEMI cinematography award - and toured the festival circuit, including selections at world-renowned festivals like Palm Springs and Clermont Ferrand.
BIANCA LAZAR
Costume Designer
Graduated in set design at the Santa Giulia Academy in Brescia and in interior & spatial design at the Milan Polytechnic, she works as a visual designer, graphic designer, set and costume designer for independent films and shorts. Among her latest works are Omolara (2021), set in the 1990s, shot in Venice and Los Angeles and produced by Film Independent (USA), and From Beyond (2023), a science fiction film based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft.
MARCO FERRARA
Editor
In 2005 he graduated from the University of Bologna and started working as an editor. In 2008 he moved to Buenos Aires, where he collaborated with the post-production house Superestudio. Here, he edited the short film Inactivo, which received a Special Jury Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival at Lakino 2010. In the same year, he returned to Italy, where he edited Onde Nostre, a 16mm film about the Italian surf scene . In 2018 he joined The 6 Tailors, a collective of editors based in Milan.
ENRICO FERRI
Composer
Composer for cinema, opera and theatre. He scored both the director's previous shorts, UB-13 (2018) and Meidagen (2019). The latter earned him the "Sergeant Cecil Thompson Award" for Best Music at the Veterans Film Festival in Australia. Among his works for stage, he collaborated with director Corina van Eijck and librettist Jonathan Levi for the new opera production After the Flood (Netherlands, 2022). He is also a prolific concert composer. We mention Tales of Asimov, for the Rosin Octet, Hymn to the Unknown Soldier, for the South Netherlands Philharmonic, and Sang de Tera, wity lyrics in Bergamo dialect, performed at the November Music Festival 2020 in the Netherlands.
JURI FERRI
FILMMAKER
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