George Sluizer (25 June 1932 – 20 September 2014) was a French-born Dutch

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

whose credits included features as well as documentary films.

Career

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, France, to a Dutch-Jewish father and a Norwegian mother, he was best known for directing two versions of '' The Vanishing'', a 1988 Dutch-language release, originally titled '' Spoorloos'', and the 1993 American version. Other feature films directed by Sluizer included '' Utz'' (1992) for producer John Goldschmidt, '' Crimetime'' (1995), and ''

Dark Blood ''Dark Blood'' is a 2012 American-Dutch thriller film directed by George Sluizer, written by Jim Barton, and starring River Phoenix, Judy Davis, and Jonathan Pryce. The film was not completed due to the death of Phoenix in 1993, shortly before the ...

'', which was discontinued after the death of its lead actor

River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician and activist. Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He ...

, but later completed and premiered at the

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...

in 2012. The film was shown two more times publicly on 2 October 2012 at the same festival. From 2012 till 2014 he was part of the film jury for

ShortCutz Amsterdam ShortCutz Amsterdam (ShortCutz AMS) is an annual film festival promoting short films in Amsterdam, Netherlands held the whole year through. Festival ShortCutz Amsterdam is a film festival held the whole year through, promoting Dutch short fi ...

. An annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

promoting short films in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Dutch Short Films Are the Focus - Shortcutz Amsterdam
''Go Social Film Magazine''. Retrieved 2 April 2014. Director Dennis Alink made a documentary called Sluizer Speaks during the final years of Sluizer's life. It premiered two months after his death at the IDFA in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Accusations against Ariel Sharon

Sluizer was accused by Israeli officials of a 'modern

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

' for his claims – which in 2010 finally achieved front page level publicity in Israel – that he had witnessed the then Defense Minister

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

personally shooting two Palestinian children from close range near the Sabra-Shatilla refugee camp in November 1982, after the

Sabra and Shatila massacre The Sabra and Shatila massacre (also known as the Sabra and Chatila massacre) was the killing of between 460 and 3,500 civilians, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites, by the militia of the Lebanese Forces, a Maronite Christian Lebanese ...

.Cnaan Liphshiz
"I saw Ariel Sharon murder 2 Palestinian toddlers in Lebanon,"
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'' (19 November 2010). Retrieved 4 August 2013

Filmography

As director

Awards and nominations

* 1988 -

Golden Calf According to the Bible, the golden calf (עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב '' ‘ēgel hazzāhāv'') was an idol (a cult image) made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as ''ḥēṭə’ hā‘ēgel'' ...

Best Film,

Nederlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...

, for '' Spoorloos'' * 1997 - Nomination Crystal Star, Brussels International Film Festival, for ''Mortinho por Chegar a Casa'' * 1998 - Nomination

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

, for '' The Commissioner'' * 2002 - Nomination

Best Film & Beste Director,

, for '' La balsa de piedra'' * 2002 - Juryprize,

, for '' La balsa de piedra'' * 2013 - ShortCutz Amsterdam Career Award

References

External links

*
Official George Sluizer website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sluizer, George 1932 births 2014 deaths Dutch documentary filmmakers Dutch film directors Dutch film producers Dutch film editors Dutch screenwriters Dutch male screenwriters Dutch male short story writers Dutch people of Norwegian descent Dutch Jews 20th-century Dutch people Golden Calf winners 20th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights Dutch male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Dutch short story writers 20th-century Dutch male writers