Albert Haanstra (; 31 May 1916 – 23 October 1997) was a Dutch director of

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s and

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

. His documentary ''

Glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

'' (1958) won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 1959. His feature film '' Fanfare'' (1958) was the most visited Dutch film at the time, and has since only been surpassed by '' Turkish Delight'' (1973).

Early life

Albert Haanstra was born on 31 May 1916 in Espelo, a small village near Holten, in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. His father was Folkert Haanstra, a schoolteacher, and his mother Jansje Schuiveling. Haanstra grew up in the village of Goor. Because he lived during the poverty of the 1920s, Haanstra grew up with the mindset that to get the most out of life, he would need to work hard and live below his means to survive. Haanstra's father retired early as a schoolteacher and started his lifelong dream of becoming a painter. Haanstra himself, after realizing teaching didn't interest him, became a painter himself and started experimenting with photography. Hans Schoots,
Haanstra, Albert (1916-1997)
, ''Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland'', 2013. Retrieved on 3 December 2014. Through his fascination, Haanstra became friends with a local cinema owner who eventually would let him see movies for free from the projection room, where Haanstra's desire to dabble in cinema would grow. By collecting scrap equipment that had been thrown away, Haanstra made a homemade projector, and after doing odd jobs around his village to earn money, he bought films from a local store to play them on his projector. He was later accepted into

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

but would subsequently turn it down as he felt that the long years of study would be nothing in comparison to real life experience. During his later employment as a press photographer, Haanstra experimented in staged photography, where he would create his first film, Catfish.

Career

Haanstra became a professional Dutch documentary film maker in 1947. He won international acclaim with his short documentary '' Spiegel van Holland (Mirror of Holland)'', for which he received the Grand Prix du court métrage at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

of 1951. During the fifties he made six films for Shell, among others ''The Rival World'' (1955) on insects spreading deadly diseases and how to fight them. In 1958 his documentary ''

'', a filming improvisation made in a glass factory, won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. Due to the increasing trend of the poetic mode documentaries following the events of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, many of Haanstra's films contained poetic elements that "encourage viewers to see the mystery, wonder, or beauty of aspects of the historical world" by stressing the film's "mood, tone, and effect much more than displays of factual information or acts of rhetorical persuasion." He directed several fiction films. '' Fanfare'', a comedy situated in a small Dutch village, is still the Netherlands' second most popular film ever (measured at the box office), only surpassed by Paul Verhoevens ''Turkish Delight''. Abroad however, ''Fanfare'' was hardly noticed, but it was entered into the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and the 1st Moscow International Film Festival. After '' Fanfare'', he continued his artistry in directing another short film called, ''Zoo''. It was released on 14 December, 1962. A film which compared the behavior of animals and humans through his always appreciated humoristic fashion. As always, Haanstra continued to experiment with his cinematic techniques. In ''Zoo'' he experimented with hidden camera filming to capture he true nature of both man and beast. In 1963, ''Zoo'' was nominated for the BAFTA Film Award in Holland for Best Short Film. In several shorts and in long documentaries like ''Alleman / The Human Dutch'' and ''Stem van het water / The Voice of the Water'' Haansta reflected on The Netherlands and its inhabitants. All these films made him one of the most popular filmmakers in the history of Dutch cinema. The documentary '' Alleman'' was seen in the cinema by 20 percent of the total Dutch population. In the seventies and eighties Haanstra addressed a new subject. He made several films about animals. In the long documentary '' Ape and Super-Ape'' (''Bij de Beesten af'') (1973), for which he collaborated with Frans de Waal and Jane Goodall, among others, he compared the behavior of animals and human beings. In total Haanstra received close to a hundred awards. Haanstra was Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

Death

Haanstra died on 23 October 1997 at the age of 81 in a nursing home in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

in the Netherlands. He died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. After his death, the Oeuvre Award, a prestigious Dutch prize for film, (Haanstra had won one himself), was renamed the Bert Haanstra Oeuvre Award.

Filmography

*'' De Muiderkring Herleeft'' (1948) *'' Mirror of Holland'' (1950) *''Nederlandse Beeldhouwkunst tijdens de late Middeleeuwen'' (1951) *'' Panta Rhei'' (1952) *''Dijkbouw'' (1952) *''Ontstaan en Vergaan'' (1954) *''De Opsporing van Aardolie'' (1954) *''De Verkenningsboring'' (1954) *''The Rival World'' (1955) *''En de zee was niet meer'' (1955) *''God Shiva'' (1955) *''Rembrandt, schilder van de mens'' (1957) *''Over glas gesproken'' (1958) *''

'' (1958) *'' Fanfare'' (1958) *''The Manneken Pis Case'' (1960) *''Delta Phase I'' (1962) *''Zoo'' (1962) *''Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 2: The City - Cars or People?'' (1963) *'' The Human Dutch'' (1963) *''The Voice of the Water'' (1966) *''Evoluon'' (1967) *''Return Ticket to Madrid'' (1967) *'' Ape and Super-Ape'' (1972) *'' When the Poppies Bloom Again'' (1975) *''Nationale Parken... Noodzaak'' (1978) *' (1979) *''Nederland'' (1983) *''Vroeger kon je lachen'' (1983) *'' The Family of Chimps'' (1984) *''Kinderen van Ghana'' (1988)

References

External links