Still: People Passing Through Me in an Endless Procession - Frans van de Staak

The program titled Frans van de Staak: A Shoemaker’s Son in Amsterdam is taking place on October 22nd presenting two key works by Van de Staak from the 1980s on 16mm prints from the archive of Eye Filmmuseum. 

Van de Staak embraced a consciously unconventional approach to filmmaking. He produced his movies on a modest scale and fostered a sense of community, channeling his efforts into building underground networks of support among independent directors. Initially located above his father’s shoemaker’s workshop, Van de Staak’s film studio became a key gathering spot and production hub for Amsterdam’s experimental film scene. He played a pivotal role in mentoring emerging filmmakers and established strong connections with other notable Dutch experimental artists.

From the mid-1970s Van de Staak produced his first films, which focus on investigating space, language, and movement. Beginning in the 1980s, Van de Staak also made long experimental films, in which language and literature are the main themes. The two films in the program, Deed Undone (Ongedaan gedaan, 1989) and People Passing Through Me in an Endless Procession (Er gaat een eindeloze stoet mensen door mij heen, 1981) are notable examples of this. In Deed Undone the poetry of Gerrit Kouwenaar is the point of departure of the film. And People Passing Through Me in an Endless Procession was written in collaboration with poet and playwright Lidy van Marissing, consisting of twenty-five scenes each featuring the same actors sharing a monologue in different set-ups. 

Find more information on the program Frans van de Staak: A Shoemaker’s Son in Amsterdam here.