American award for film production NM Kamp Vught

Writer-director Sanne Kortooms’ film ‘Not Everything Is What It Seems’ won the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards 2021. Kortooms produced the film with Chiel Christiaans (Family Format) on behalf of Nationaal Monument Kamp. Vught for the permanent exhibition of the renovated museum. From hundreds of entries, the professional jury nominated the film alongside other productions from Great Britain, Hong Kong, Russia and the United States.

Jeroen van den Eijnde, director of the National Monument Camp Vught: “This international recognition is a big boost for our museum and the filmmaker. This award underlines that in our new presentation we also establish a high quality connection with the current importance of the history of this place.

The interactive film is screened in the “reflection room”, where the visitor, after seeing the permanent exhibition and the authentic campsite, is invited to reflect on his own role in society, on the basis of the motto “commemorate, it is to think ”. Awareness of choice, responsibility and prejudice play a major role in this, and that is exactly what “All is not what it seems” is about.

Victim, perpetrator or spectator?
These are three seemingly light and everyday situations: in a gym, on the street, and in a parking lot. Yet only one thing needs to be misinterpreted and everything ignites. Sophie van Winden, Nizar El Manouzi and Juda Goslinga alternate scene by scene as victim, perpetrator and spectator (who may or may not choose to intervene). The actors must always assess the situation and make choices, and this also applies to the spectator. But is it easy to make a choice if you don’t know the situation, are you basing yourself on simple pictures?
“The title, ‘Not Everything Is What It Seems’, actually describes it very well,” says Kortooms. “In most cases, you don’t know how something really works. It is easy to make a quick guess, but it is much more difficult and time consuming to determine if it is correct. Too bad, because as a result, things that only act on bad first impressions can easily get out of hand. In the movie, we try to play with that by showing what came before it after each scene. Because sometimes that can put it all in a different light.

Topical
For actor Nizar El Manouzi, the situations described in the film are very recognizable. In the street, but also at work, the actor and presenter (of ‘Het Klokhuis’) often has to deal with prejudices and misinterpreted things. “People often start the conversation on the basis of a certain assumption. But you never know what consequences these assumptions might have. Nizar’s favorite scene is of a narrow street where a car is blocking traffic. “I felt that only a horn can drive someone crazy. Sometimes it only takes a drop to overflow the bucket.

discriminate
Sophie van Winden also remembers the recordings well: “It was exciting playing the stage in the gymnasium. I must have made a very discriminatory remark, driven by the troubles of my character. It’s far from me. The character psychology made me better understand why she said that, but I never find that an excuse myself. Anyway, Van Winden agrees. “These are very sensitive topics that you work with. You feel like you are balancing on a thin rope and you always wonder if things are “possible”. Sometimes it is very abrasive and that is exactly the purpose of the film. Let the viewer put themselves in this situation and think, how would I do that? Would I dare say something if someone is cursed in front of me? “

Prejudices are of all time
Reflection on yourself, the present and the future, in this spirit the “space of reflection” (where one can see portraits of films and short documentaries in addition to “Tout est pas ce que”. it seems’) was developed by the remembrance center. “I think it’s a very nice initiative from the National Monument Kamp Vught to bring current events to the museum in this way,” Van Winden said. “It’s great to involve people in this way and let them think that prejudice is all the time and that we should always keep an open mind. “