Now that physical attendance at the commemorations isn’t possible, Memphis Film’s award-winning “war-films” can be viewed online for free in the months April and May.
This way we commemorate the great impact the war had on societies around the world. The films have their origins in the former colonies: Curaçao and Aruba, but also in Europe.
The films are: George Maduro – An ‘ordinary’ hero; Boy Ecury; The Myth of Armando; A Shtetl in the Caribbean and Tulip Time.
With the promocode 75jaarbevrijding you can watch them for free until May 31st on our Vimeo On Demand page. For an explanation on how to use the promotional code, see the end of this article.
Stay safe.
GEORGE MADURO – AN ‘ORDINARY’ HERO
A film by Robbert-Jan Vos
When traveling from the Netherlands to England he gets betrayed and is put behind bars again. He dies aged 28 in Dachau, mere months before the liberation. To commemorate their son, his parents funded Madurodam, a miniature city in The Hague.
BOY ECURY
A film by Frans Weisz after a scenario by Arthur Japin, based on a true story
George Maduro wasn’t the only one who fought for the Netherlands while his roots were elsewhere. Boy Ecury was born in Aruba. In 1937 he went to the Netherlands for his studies. Since the start of the war, he fiercely resisted the occupiers. He became active in the resistance. Boy was also betrayed and arrested. He didn’t make it to the liberation and was executed in 1944.
In the movie Boy Ecury, Boy Ecury’s father come to the Netherlands after the war in 1947 to look for his son’s body. In his search he holds on to one thing: that Boy died with a smile on his face. Why did Boy join the resistance? How and by whom was he murdered? Where did his body go? And above all: who was he? With these questions, the father goes on a quest to find the dead and ‘living’ Boy. Only the memories keep him going.
THE MYTH OF ARMANDO
A film by Sjors Swierstra & Roelof Jan Minneboo
In The Myth of Armando, the war also plays a big part. The war isn’t central to the documentary, but it is in the life of artist Armando. It begins at a woodland edge. A boy, around 15 years old, defies the curfew. A German soldier apprehends the boy and leads him to the Amersfoort concentration camp. The boy pretends to trip and stabs the soldier with a knife. The soldier dies, the boy flees.
This incident, The incident, plays an essential part in the work of painter, writer, poet, sculptor, violinist and theatre maker Armando. In interviews Armando regularly brings up the incident, but he wards off deeper questions. Therefore, many questions remain: was he involved himself or did he invent a universal tragedy, his own myth, that runs through his extensive oeuvre?
A SHTETL IN THE CARIBBEAN
A film by Sherman De Jesus
A Shtetl in the Caribbean tells the compelling story of two childhood friends who grew up on Curaçao, in search for their family history in Eastern Europe. Mark and Tsale, children of Eastern European Jews that fled to Curaçao, travel back to the home countries of their ancestors.
In this documentary road-movie across Curaçao, the United States, Belarus, Ukraine and Israel, we witness their discoveries, courage and despair while they are reminded of the sacrifices their parents had to make to provide their family with a better future.
TULIP TIME
A film by Marco De Stefanis & Tonino Boniotti
Text by Arthur Japin, voice-over by Kitty Courbois
Despite the emerging fascism in Italy during the second world war, the Trio Lescano, a singing group formed by three Jewish-Dutch sisters, became a hit. In the ‘30s Alexandria, Judith and Catherina came to Italy as daughters of Alexander Leschan, a famous circus artist, and opera singer Eva de Leeuwe. There they were discovered by a local talentscout. He taught them to sing and launched their career.
Marco de Stefanis and Tonino Boniotti came across this fascinating story by chance and decided to investigate how it came about that they were almost entirely forgotten after 1947, as if they had been wiped from the collective memory by force.
1. After clicking the button for the movie (s) of your choice, you will be taken to the Vimeo On Demand web page. You click on BUY or RENT, and a pop-up window appears.
2. You need to create a Vimeo account (there are no costs involved). This can be done by entering your details or by linking facebook or gmail.
3. After creating an account (or after you have logged in with your existing account), a screen will appear to enter your creditcard or paypal details. That is not necessary. APPLY PROMO CODE is in blue letters at the bottom of this screen. Here you enter the promo code 75jaarbevrijding
4. After this you can watch the film free of charge.
