Louis van Gasteren

Infobox Celebrity
name = Louis van Gasteren


caption = Louis van Gasterendeletable image-caption
birth_date = birth date and age|1922|11|20
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Film director

Louis Alphonse van Gasteren (Amsterdam, November 20, 1922) is a Dutch director and documentary filmmaker. He is the son of the actor Louis van Gasteren Sr. and the concert-singer Elise Menagé Challa.

Biography

Van Gasteren studied electronics and became a sound engineer. On the advice of the director Alberto Cavalcanti he became trainee as a sound-effects man at Épernay Studios in Paris and worked for the Dutch Polygoon newsreel company in Haarlem, Netherlands in 1949. He made his debut with "Brown Gold", a film about cocoa and chocolate in 1952. In 1951 he started his filmproductioncompany Spectrum Film. In 1983 van Gasteren won the Dutch Film Critics Award for best documentary as well as the Golden Calf for best picture for "Hans: het leven voor de dood" (Hans Life Before Death). He received the Golden Calf a second time in 2003 for his documentary "The Price of Survival". [http://www.louisvangasteren.nl/Engels/Templates/page02.htm]

Selected filmography

*1961 - "Alle vogels hebben nesten" (All Birds Have Nests) - Documentary on the system-building as a result of the post-war housing shortage. 25 min.
*1962 - "Het huis" (The House) - Short film concerning a house which is demolished at the same time it is built, conceived by intercutting two time periods. No dialogue. 32 min.
*1963 - "Mayday" - Documentary about the successes and failures of rescues at sea, 20 min.
*1964 - "Er is telefoon voor u" (There's a Phone-call for You) - Documentary about the effects of the telephone in the Netherlands. 46 min.
*1964 - "Jazz and Poetry" - 14 min.
*1965 - "Out of My Skull" - Early Dutch experimental film, made during a stay as visiting professor at Harvard University. 15 min.
*1968 - "Report from Biafra" - Documentary concerning the war in Biafra. 50 min.
*1971 - "Report from Europe" - Film concerning the structure of the European community
*1973 - "On ne sait pas" - Portrait of a French country woman. 13 min
*1974 - "Multinationals" - Documentary concerning the role of multinational ventures
*1975 - "Do You Get It no.2" - Second of a series concerning perception and interpretation. Louis analyzes film footage of a policeman directing traffic and construction workers with shovels who try to make themselves immortal by their actions when they notice the presence of the camera. 13 min.
*1976 - "Salude e libertade" - History and culture of Sardinia. 52 min.
*1980 - "Wirbula flow forms" - Film concerning the water art of John Wilks. 10 min.
*1983 - "Hans Het Leven voor de dood" (Hans Life Before Death) - A documentary/feature on the life of the young composer Hans van Sweeden and those who knew him intimately. Won Golden Calf and Dutch Critics Award in 1983. 155 min.
*1989 - "Een zaak van niveau" (A Matter of Level) - 1000 years of Dutch water managementand hydro civil engineering. Golden Camera Award Chicago, Sony Video Award, Film Prize from Amsterdam fund for art, Special Commendation Prix Futura Berlijn. 56 min.
*1994 - "Why Do Pigeons Home?" - An experiment with mobile pigeon lofts, registered at the campus of the University of Utrecht, 30 min.
*1997 - "Beyond Words" - Interview with Indian guru Meher Baba, shot in 1967. Only professional color 35mm film ever shot of Meher Baba. 30 min.
*2002 - "In een Japanse stroomversnelling" - (In Japanese Rapids) a film concerning the role of Dutch engineers in Japan in the 19th century. 85 min.
*2003 - "De prijs van overleven" (The Price of Survival) - related to the children of the survivors of the second world war, 56 min.

External links

* [http://www.louisvangasteren.nl/english/ Official website]
*
* [http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Nederlands_Film_Festival/ Netherlands Film Festival] at the Internet Movie Database