BLIND

Feature film (2007), NL/BE/BG, drama, 35min, colour, 90 min, Dutch spoken

  • Writer/director: Tamar van den Dop
  • Cast: Halina Reijn, Joren Seldenslachts, Jan Decleir, Katelijne Verbeke
  • Co-producers: Klas Film Ltd. (BG), MMG (BE), NTR Televisie
  • Distribution: Buena Vista (NL), Kinepolis (BE)
  • World sales:: Bavaria Film International

In a foggy twilight landscape of late-Impressionist gloom, a mother and her son live in a mansion forgotten by time. Ruben, the son, is blind, but still remembers when he could see. He is a fierce, wild young man who rages at the world. Hoping to calm his tormented soul, his mother hires Marie to read for him, a mysterious woman who does not like to be seen. With patience and authority, she gradually tames Ruben with the gentle power of her voice, giving rise to images of crystalline clarity in his mind. Ruben falls in love with Marie, imagining her to be as young and beautiful as the voice he hears. But Marie is neither young nor beautiful: she is a good decade older than Ruben and bears the scars of a horrible childhood tragedy on her body. Having withdrawn into herself, she has chosen books over life, the beauty of the written page over the beauty she will never find in the mirror. But when the doctor says that Ruben can be operated and will be able to see again, fear takes over. Will Ruben reject Marie, or is true love really blind?

****Nu.nl (Major Dutch online news website) ‘Blind is a charming and pleasant fairytale. A film in which the senses – not only sight- but also smell, play a main role.’

***** Movie2movie.nl (Dutch film website) ‘The way Reijn and Seldslachts portray their characters is convincing an absolutely amazing’

*** Het Parool (daily newspaper) ‘ Blind is a beautifully styled dark-romantic fairytale about blind love, that offers the viewer room to let his thoughts wonder.’

Awards: Gouden Gryphon voor Beste Film & Jury Grand Prix, Giffoni Film Festival, Italie 2008; Grand Prix, Festival International Cinéma & Costumes Moulins, Frankrijk 2008; Le Grand Prix de la meilleure musique originale par Tom Holkenborg, IFF du film D’Aubagne, Frankrijk 2008; Nomination Best Composer Tom Holkenborg, Winner Moviesquad Award Best Film, Dutch Film Festival 2007

Festivals (selection): Toronto FF 2007, Competition Discovery Section (World Premiere); European Youth FF 2007; Flanders 2007; Athens FF 2007; Braunschweig IFF 2007; Valladolid FF 2007, Dutch Film Festival 2007, Competition; AFM American F Market 2007, USA; EuropaFilmFest Munich 2007, Germany ; Tallinn Black Nights FF 2007, IFFR Rotterdam 2007, AFI Dallas 2007; D’Aubagne 2008; Giffoni 2008; Hongkong 2008; Shanghai 2008, Cleveland 2008; Calgary IFF 2008; Copenhagen Natfilm 2008.