John Appel
2021The Last Victory
John Appel
Documentary - The annual Palio bareback horse race, set in the central plaza of Siena, Italy, dates back to the Middle Ages and lasts a scant 80 seconds, conferring glory on the winner and ignominy on the losers. Documentarian John Appel captures all the drama, action and anguish that accompany this fiercely upheld tradition, focusing specifically on the district of Civetta, which, embarrassingly, hasn't won the race in 23 years. - Egidio Mecacci, Paolo Rossi, Alma Savini
The Last Victory
The Player
John Appel
Documentary maker John Appel made a film about gambling, winning and losing, based on the the memories of his father. Appel relates anecdotes to characterize his father and shed light on the events that led to his downfall. In between, we visit the horse races, where we meet an extremely good-humored bookie named Harry. Appel delves artistically into the mysterious mind of his father, who was not just a gambler, but a player of life.
The Player
Wrong Time Wrong Place
John Appel
On 22 July 2011, a bomb attack in the centre of Oslo and a shooting spree on the island Utoya took the lives of 77 people. It was the senseless, brutal act of one man: Anders Breivik. WRONG TIME WRONG PLACE tells the story of 5 individuals who were present then and shows the role of coincidence in this tragedy. A sequence of small, trivial happenings marks the thin line between life and death. Two minutes earlier or later can be of decisive importance. WRONG TIME WRONG PLACE is a film about the bargain with fate. However much one tries to influence fate, in the end coincidence calls the shots.
Wrong Time Wrong Place
Drs. P: Niet Van Talent Gespeend
Frank van Osch
Heinz Hermann Polzer, Ivo de Wijs
A documentary on Heinz Hermann Polzer, better known under his pseudonym Drs. P. Polzer was a Swiss singer-songwriter, poet, and prose writer in the Dutch language. His oeuvre consists mainly of macabre novelty songs, with dry humour, surprising twists and an exceptionally inventive and virtuoso use of the Dutch language. Polzer sang his lyrics with a distinctive shaky voice, while accompanying himself on the piano.
Drs. P: Niet Van Talent Gespeend
Sprekend Nederland
John Appel
A portrait of the Netherlands on the basis of wedding speeches, party meetings, funerals, public manifestations, political rallies and protest marches. The documentary captures the spirit of the times and shows a country is divided into all sorts of clubs and subcultures. It is a country that, despite all its blessings, lives in fear and moral confusion. But what exactly are we afraid of? A kaleidoscope of scenes confronts the viewer, disconcertingly and sometimes touchingly, with this and other questions and moral issues.
The Voice of Holland
