The Tripsitter screens at The Kansas City Underground Film Festival
26 August 2023
If you find yourself in or around Kansas City in the week of September 7-16, be sure to visit the screening of The Tripsitter and see our proud little achievement on the big screen at The Kansas City Underground Film Festival!
The short film had it’s premiere on April 9, 2023 at the Go Short Film Festival, a well-known film festival in Nijmegen. Keep an eye on our website and socials for more information on the upcoming festival screenings.
The Tripsitter is ready to start it’s festival life
22 december 2022
The timing is perfect to serve as a small holiday present for cast and crew, who were invited yesterday to watch the finished version of The Tripsitter. The short film has wrapped up post-production as planned an is now ready to start it’s festival life.
Co-produced with Quai du Commerce, The Tripsitter is our second collaboration with up-and-coming young director and fim critic Sjoerd van Wijk. The Tripsitter borders between an essay film and psychological drama. When the creative and slightly naive Lisa gets a bad trip on magic mushrooms, she begins to doubt her guru Freek and his philosophical views. To achieve enlightenment she has to confront her frustrations with her fellow human beings and her ambivalent feelings about Freek.
The short film was filmed during the last weekend of October 2022 in Nijmegen. The main filming location was the well known Goffertpark. We were blessed with two late autumn sunny days and zero rain. Everything went smoothley and the small cast and crew had a good time making this special little movie. Check out the behind-the-scenes photographs below. And keep an eye on our website and socials for more information on the upcoming festival screenings of The Tripsitter. We can’t wait to show it to you!
The Netherlands Film Fund grants research & development funding to Pin
11 december 2022
We are happy to announce that the Netherlands Film Fund has granted the ‘Strat grant’ research & development support to Pin.
Pin is a short film written and directed by Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker Ismar Vejzovic and is being produced by Dzenta Camo from Elements of Jane Productions. Pin is the triad story of the life of a young professor turned refugee and his struggle to move on with his life after the loss of everything he held dear. This tragic drama is inspired by both the Yugoslav wars and the ongoing war in Ukraine. The plot ties together the past and the future in a universal refugee experience that resonates in all conflicts we recently experienced and all those currently underway all over the planet. It is a realistic and universal anti-war story that shows what happens when we stop with dialogue and tolerance and resort to violence and weapons.
It’s a warp! a short view back on the production process of The Patriarchy
13 oktober 2022
The month of september started and ended with shooting our feministic film the Patriarchy. Atotal of four very packed and intense shooting days. Our scroptwriter, producer and directing assistant Dzenita Camo sheds a light on the project.
The idea for The Patriarchy was born in early 2020, before our lives and our filmmaking got dereanged by the Covid pandemic. After some months getting used to our weird new virus-related existance, we picked up the project realising that the extra time we were given, gave us inspiration to improve the script, making it an even better project.
When we were ready to pick-up production again in 2021 – by then Covid-protocols for filmmaking where in place and shooting was an option again – a mixed string of forward leaps and setbacks started unfolding. By then I had also founded Foundation Agie with Patriarchy’s director Elles van Velzen and co-producer Michel Volwater, as operating as a legally joint collective gives as a better base and producing power for future projects.
Receiving our first bit of funding from Rotterdams Vrouwenfonds for The Patriarchy was a big step forward that strengthend our belief in the project. Hearing that our initial authentic ’70 location was being renovated and modernised was a big step back. Finding a new location that was that authentic and fit our needs proved a hard task.
When all was in place and we were mere weeks from the first day of shooting, small but significant strokes of bad luck started troubling us, from minor locations falling through to actor pulling out last minute due to personal reasons.The most unbelievable setback happend four days before the shooting was plannend to start. I had just boarded the plane in sarajevo, coming back from Sarajevo Film Festival and subsequenet vacation in my other home, ans as I picked up my phone to put it in flight mode, a message from Elles, our director arrived: our main actress had broken her wrist and had a thick bandage she wasn’t allowed to take off. how were we gonna deal with this on such short notice? It took one evening of brainstrorming and we figured out a way to actually write an accident into the story. So that very same night I spent rewriting the script.
In the end, we managed to overcome all issues that were thrown at us, which I am very proud of. It was challenging but I think that everything we shot in de past month will result in a compelling and stylistically interesting short film. All this goes to show that every production is different and it’s always a bit unpredictable how things will develop. But unpredictability is often a part of every (creative) production process. Finding creative and smart ways to deal with it, is at the heart of the game.
The coming months we will be laying the final puzzle in the edit. I leave you with some nice behind the scenes photographs made by our setphotographer Johan de Moel / Lichtjager.
Sarajevo Film Festival 2022: work and party with the Dutch crew
28 august 2022 by Dženita Čamo
I am back in Rotterdam after three wonderful weeks in my other hometown Sarajevo, including an amazing week at the Sarajevo Film Festival! This year I was there with two other Bosnian-Dutch colleagues, which gave a special flavour to the party.
Me and my colleague Ismar Vejzovic, screenwriter and director, were there not only for fun, but to lay the groundwork for our two upcoming co-productions with Bosnia, the short films Pin and Eye for an Eye. Meeting the local talents and talking collaborations during sunbathed relaxed coffees on the festival square or during parties under the starry Sarajevan sky, was the most relaxed way of working. We also met de rest of the Dutch delegation, who invited us to dinner at a well known fish restaurant.
In between the industry events and parties, where we met some great new colleagues, I also managed to see some films. Two that left a big impression are Klondike and Triangle of Sadness. The one that sturred Bosnian sentiments was Lights of Sarajevo, a documentary about the famous Yugoslav band Zabranjeno Pusenje (No Smoking).
The week left me full of great impressions and memories. And some fatigue ;). I am looking forward to next years edition already.
Pin receives funding from the Dutch Counsil of Refugees
17 june 2022
We are very happy to announce that our short film production Pin has received funding from DAF, the foundation of the Dutch Counsil for Refugees (VluchtelingenWerk). DAF supports organisations, initiatives and projects that aim to create more support and understanding for refugees. Which is exactly what we aim to do with Pin, a short film written and to be directed by Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker Ismar Vejzovic.
Pin is the triad story of the life of a young professor turned refugee and his struggle to move on with his life after the loss of everything he held dear. This tragic drama uses Yugoslav wars as a backdrop while the viewer walks side by side with Alen and experiences his past, present and the future. Although the plot is situated in the past it still remains very much current today. Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Ukraine and dozens of other conflicts currently underway in full force all over the planet are still showing us how simple it is to pit people against one another. How easy it is to make people think in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Therefore PIN is a realistic and universal anti-war story which shows what happens when we stop with dialogue and tolerance and resort to violence and weapons.
Thanks for your support Vluchtelingenwerk! It means a lot that you recognize our mission.
Worldpremiere of Yearmates at Limburg Film Festival 2022
28 maart 2022
We are happy to announce that our short film Yearmates (Dutch title Jaarsgenoten) wil have it’s world premiere at Limburg Film Festival 2022. This years LFF takes place from 21 – 24 April in Venlo. Yearmates will be screened during the festival in a special premiere block, with other premiering shorts.
If you visit LFF then go and chek out Yearmates.. and tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from our public. Get your festival tickets here.
Het voelde als een mini vakantie in eigen land, van Rotterdam naar Maastricht en vervolgens Nijmegen. De langverwachte opnames van Groen brachten ons uiteindelijk op prachtige nieuwe plekken. Én we hadden het weer ook lekker mee. Erg belangrijk als je hele dagen in een bos staat te filmen.
Voor mij als uitvoerend producent was het in de weken voorafgaand aan een kwestie van veel coördineren op afstand met crew en cast verspreid van Groningen tot Maastricht. Gelukkig regelde Sjoerd, de regisseur, ter plekke in Nijmegen de nodige locaties en praktische zaken.
Net als in februari, verbleef ik in Maastricht in het prachtige The Green Elephant Hostel (dikke aanrader, ondertussen my go-to-place in Maastricht). Deze keer had ik gezelschap van een aantal crew leden die ook van ver kwamen.
Na een lekker ontbijtje gingen we vrijdagochtend naar het bos achter Fort Sint-Pietersberg voor de opnames van de eerste scènes. Dit is hoe dat eruit zag:
De onderlinge vibe zat er al lekker in en we gingen vlotjes richting de middag én de stad, waar we in een park nog even de laatste scène van de dag (én de film) draaiden. Na een vroege middag wrap, gingen we direct door naar Nijmegen, want ons filmavontuur ging verder op een bijzondere plek in Gelderland.
In Heilig Landstichting, een kleine plaats in het verlengde van de stad Nijmegen, ligt het prachtige Musuempark Oriëntalis. In dit openluchtmuseum stap je letterlijk binnen in de oude wereld van het Jodendom, Christendom en de Islam. Hieronder is een kleine wandeling door de authentieke Romeinse nederzetting. Hier twee dagen lang filmen was zeker geen straf.
De opnames verliepen goed, zonder uitloop of problemen. En na een heerlijk diner bij Coosje en Han die ons het hele weekend hebben verwend met lekker eten, was het tijd om afscheid te nemen van cast en crew. En zo spreiden we weer uit, ieder naar ons eigen stukje Nederland. En onze film in wording maakt nu een reis naar Keulen, zodat onze editor Ayse haar creatieve storytelling kunsten er op los kan laten.
Groen zal naar verwachting eind november afgerond worden. Daarna begint de film aan zijn festivalleven.
Good news about our upcoming production ‘The Patriarchy’: Rotterdams Vrouwenfonds is supporting the production with a 5000,- euro grant. This short film drama follows the ambitious businesswoman Anna, while she faces rigid patriarchal views in her struggle for leadership of the family business in de 1970s.
The film is produced by Foundation Agie in collaboration with Filmbureau Waterwegen. EoJ’s Dzenita Camo has written the script from a story by director Elles van Velzen. Dzenita is also executive producing together with Lies waterman (Filmbureau Waterwegen).
We are looking forward to this periode piece adventure!
We are looking for the following crew members for the short film Green, preferably residing in Nijmegen or surroundings.
D.O.P.
Gaffer
Script supervisor
Location- and Covid safety manager
Tee film will be shot on 17, 18 and 19 September 2021 in Nijmegen. It is meant for distribution on festivals. Low budget fee available.
ABOUT THE FILM Green is a coming-of-age dramedy about the hazing period of three first year female students in Maastricht. Their first assignment for an independent sorority puts their budding friendship to the test. Dare they cross personal boundaries to fullfill this assignment and save their friendship?
Script and director: Sjoerd van Wijk
Filmlocation: Nijmegen (in the woods)
Period: Three shooting days (17, 18 en 19 September 2021) + availability for location visits and meetings.
Profile: We are open for reactions by both young film makers and more seasoned professionals.
WHAT WE OFFER
We offer a lowbudget fee including expenses. And we hope to offer you a great professional experience with a result we will all be proud of.
REACTIONS / MORE INFORMATION
Does the story sound interesting and do you have time to work on set in two weeks time, then send an e-mail to Dzenita Camo via dzenita@elementsofjane.nl and tell us more about yourself.
