About
Martin Koolhoven
Martin Koolhoven is one of the Netherlands’ most successful filmmakers, who has adapted both his own scripts and those of others. Martin eats and drinks film; HP De Tijd once wrote that celluloid flows through his veins. He started with small arthouse films, but through blockbusters like Het Schnitzelparadijs and Oorlogswinter, he recently made his international debut with Brimstone, the first Dutch western that has been sold to over eighty countries.
Martin provides a varied evening full of film clips, humor, seriousness, insights, and engagement. In different presentations, Martin addresses the themes of storytelling, directing, working internationally, and engagement. Central to this is, of course, directing. Because that is what everyone ultimately wants: to have control over their own life. Whether it’s your career, the way you interact with your staff or your clients, everyone would like to have more control. And directing is control.
1. The art of storytelling
How do I tell a story? What is a story? What is the story of my organisation actually? When is a story a story? These seem like simple questions, but do you know the answer? Does there need to be drama, a plot and/or emotion? And why are these kinds of ingredients important if I want to convey a message? Martin Koolhoven has learned over the years how a story comes across best.
2. Leading
Direction is oversight. Direction is leading, delegating. Coordinating collaboration on something you are working on with a large group of people. Direction is project management. How do you achieve a goal together? For many people in management or in the administrative field, this process will be familiar. Directing a film in many ways resembles leading a company or a department of it, a small municipality or an airport. How do you manage people? How important is preparation? And communication? What about hierarchy? Do your people work for you or with you? Ultimately, you do nothing yourself. All the other people you direct can each do more in their field. A director is the ultimate manager. Eddy Terstall and Martin Koolhoven are among the best-known Dutch filmmakers. Their films together account for 22 Golden Calves and 40 nominations, as well as many international film awards. They directed 25 feature films and more than 100 commercials together. Martin and Eddy provide insight in an entertaining way, using their field of expertise, into how they can achieve a good end result in practice with a group of employees.
3. Koolhoven's view
Martin Koolhoven is one of the Netherlands’ most successful filmmakers, who has filmed both his own scripts and those of others. Martin eats and drinks film; HP De Tijd once wrote about him that celluloid flows through his veins. He started with small arthouse films, but through blockbusters like Het Schnitzelparadijs and Oorlogswinter, he recently made his international debut with Brimstone, the first Dutch western that was sold to more than eighty countries. In this presentation, Martin shares his passion with the audience. He goes through the films that have been important to him in becoming a filmmaker himself. But also why these films are so important in film history.
©Walter Kallenbach
