Still: Horsepower - Tittel del Mar

Alexander Hanst, aka iamdeathrow, enjoys legendary status on Curaçao and within the surrounding Caribbean. According to Tittel del Mar, who profiles him in her short doc Horsepower that is premiering in IFFR’s Short & Midlength section, he has as many followers internationally as there are residents on Curaçao. Bold, tattooed and immensely skilled on two wheels, he leads an army of fellow motor-cyclists (more than 200 of them) on the streets and lanes of his homeland. No helmets. Each weaving back and forth, in and out. Wheelies galore.

For all intents and purposes, Alexander is the kingpin, the life and soul of the party, the leader of the pack. 

But as Del Mar reveals, he is also a man of stark opposites. He may have a very public profile, but he keeps a very private, handwritten diary. By night he is surrounded by hundreds of followers, but by day he seeks seclusion. He is clearly identified as a rider of motorbikes, but he is never happier than when he is alone with nature, away from the clamour. He is a very keen horse-rider.

“The way he talks when the big boys aren’t there, you see the change in his expression, his eyes chill, his forehead is calm,” observes Del Mar. “He becomes Alex. There's a true distinction between iamdeathrow and who Alex is. It's like two different personalities.”

That said, when Del Mar first met Alex, it was iamdeathrow whom she had to impress. “He was one of the first people who gave me permission to come to one of the local motorsport events and document him, because it's such a macho culture here that most people see a woman with a camera and they're like, ‘who's this chick? What is she trying to do?’ And he was like, ‘yeah, really? You want to take photos? Okay. Come see me this Saturday and let's see what you got. And we stayed in touch ever since. It's been over 10 years now. Now we're basically siblings.”

Del Mar was therefore well positioned when the value of Alex’s stock began to grow exponentially. “He had previously pitched the idea of a movie about himself to others, but people kept postponing him. People were always like, ‘yeah, but you don't even have a million followers. Are you that big? They were constantly underestimating him.’” 

But during the pandemic, his popularity began to soar, at which point the doubters returned. “But he and I were already talking. So, when people started contacting him again, he was like, ‘no, because back when I asked you, you weren't interested.’”

“I see so many people on our islands, regardless of whether it’s motorsports or not, say that something is their goal, something is their dream, something is their ambition, but something happens and they stop, they change course,” Del Mar adds of her subject. “But not Alex. This guy is so dedicated, and I find that admirable.”

The film is visually stunning. We see the smoke, the speed, the danger, the drone shots of 200+ motorbikes claiming the streets, and all the associated tricks. And we hear the deafening noise of 200+ engines. And Del Mar is right there to capture it all on camera.

“I was in the back of the pickup and we're strapped in, right? We got harnesses on so no matter what happens, we can't fall out. So I know I'm safe and I'm basically hanging out of the back of the pickup with my phone, getting some great footage and I'm bawling my eyes out while that's going on because I just couldn't believe what we were capturing. I was absolutely blown away myself.”

The film is produced by Elizabeth Francisco of the Curacao-based Liza Films. They had known one another on the island for more than a decade before they met at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht in 2022 where they discussed the film at greater length. At that point, another producer was attached.

In 2023, they bumped into one another again on Curacao, Del Mar tells SEE NL. “Elizabeth said, ‘too bad you already have a producer for that project because I'm doing the New Producers Academy and I would have loved to produce something like that.’ And I was like, ‘actually I no longer have a producer and I would love to work on this with you.’ So we did, and I'm so proud of what we were able to do and come up with.”

Del Mar has big hopes for the film, and for its subject who has appeal far beyond the Caribbean, she underlines. “Let's say within the motorsport scene, he is known all over the world. He just came back from Taiwan, China and Dubai, and he is someone whose face is very well known,” she says. “But I have a feeling that after IFFR, even outside of motorsports, a lot of people are going to know Alex’s name.”

Find out more about IFFR here.