An Industry Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: Quatre-mains
Genre: Documentary, portrait, WWII, human interest
Length of film: 30’
Date: 2020
Director: Lander Haverals
Producer: Neelke Nijs
Executive Producer: Harald Hauben
Writer: Simon Demeulemeester & Lander Haverals
Cinematographer: Teun Poppe
Editor: Erika De Korte
Composer: N/A
Production Company: De Chinezen
Budget: 30.000,00 Euro
Financing: Self-financed by ‘De Chinezen’ (production company)
Shooting Format: Amira
Screening Format: 16:9
World Premiere: ECU (The European Independent Film Festival (Paris, France)
Awards: Winner Best European Film (at The European Independent Film Festival), Winner Best Film (Bedford Falls Film Festival).
Website: https://vimeo.com/puremadnessproductions
The Official Trailer for Quatre-Mains
Watch The Trailer for Quatre-Mains directed by Lander Haverals
A Short Biography of Lander Haverals
Lander Haverals is a writer, director, and producer. He developed his passion for film and documentary at the Mooov Film Festival. Lander Haverals has directed many TV shows and documentaries. His short award-winning short Pure Madness is dedicated to his brother who committed suicide. This short led to a TV series and feature documentary Strokes of Madness. His latest video art project Minds On Mute is made in collaboration with Annick Timmermans. It is a meaningless future, where people have lost their identity. There are lonely and indifferent due to a society saturated with technology.
The Lander Haverals Interview
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Lander Haverals (LH): Quatre-Mains is about a unique, unimaginable friendship between two wonderful men. These men were both young children during World War II. It is a humble lesson in humanity. Although the events are over 80 years old, it still bears a very urgent and important lesson today. A message of hope and reconciliation for all humankind.
Tell us about the festival run, marketing, and sales?
Lander Haverals (LH): The film was self-financed by the production company De Chinezen, and so was the promotion. With a small budget at hand and little to no experience, I subscribed only to a handful of festivals. Festivals that had selected previous shorts I made, and as a ‘long shot’, a few newer and bigger festivals.
Therefore, I was very grateful for each selection the film received. The Best European Independent Film at The European Independent Film Festival in Paris, France is a huge morale boost. The kind words, efforts, and attention received from Cindy Mitch. Cindy is the founder of The Bedford Falls Film Festival and the Art is Alive Film Festival. This meant a lot during the festival run, thus far. The film will be distributed by Dalton Distribution in Belgium. They are a small distribution company that will release the film in 2023, only in Belgium. They coordinate with the publishing of a book with the same chain of events. It is written by my co-writer and co-director Simon Demeulemeester. There is no worldwide distribution as of yet.
Shortly after shooting, Simon and Koenraad, the main characters of this short documentary, received an honorary doctorate in humanity at the Free University of Brussels, where a short fragment of the film was shown during the ceremony.
Thanks to The UK Jewish Film Festival, the film received some great feedback from diverse Jewish communities and may be available on the VOD platform ChaiFlicks in the near future.
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Lander Haverals (LH): Child of victims and child of perpetrators, yet they became friends for life. Simon Gronowski and Koenraad lost almost everything in World War II, but they found each other. Lawyer Simon Gronowski was the sole survivor in his family during the Holocaust. The family of artist Koenraad Tinel passionately adhered to Adolf Hitler and his Third Reich. The Jewish boy and the Nazi child became friends in their old age; as close as brothers. Their disarming brotherhood means everything to Simon and Koenraad themselves and is a message of hope and reconciliation for all of us.
Development & Financing?
Lander Haverals (LH): As an independent filmmaker, I’ve worked for several production companies. But I developed a special bond with the production company De Chinezen, as this company was founded by some friends and colleagues I’ve worked with throughout my career. One of the founders of De Chinezen, Harald Hauben was approached by journalist and writer Simon Demeulemeester, who was planning to write a book about the remarkable life and friendship between Simon Gronowski and Koenraad Tinel. Simon Demeulemeester was planning to interview them and asked Harald if we could help to film these interviews as a keepsake for the future. Harald asked me if I could help. As this was not a project for television, nor a funded project, this was to be a very basic and simple task we could do as a friendly gesture, but nothing more, as we did not have a platform, nor broadcaster when diving into their story.
But while talking to these two amazing gentlemen, I felt there was so much more to this. As a storyteller and documentary maker, I felt ‘obliged’ to do more with this story, to at least try and make it into a standalone short film. The urgency of the message is so honest and pure that, in my mind at least, it didn’t need much to be told in a compelling way. Harald agreed to take a risk and self-fund the project, which gave us the opportunity to work with better equipment, and have three days of shooting and one week of post-production.
The budget was very modest, but this ‘lack of means’ also gave the necessary ingredients to tell this story in the utmost pure and least distracting way; through just interviewing them, first separated and then together, interwoven by them both beautifully playing the piano.
Basically, they just told their story. We did not have a script, just a list of key questions and we just had to capture it, as their story didn’t need much else to capture our hearts… and hopefully yours too.
Production?
Lander Haverals (LH): As mentioned above, we did not have a broadcaster, distributor, or any funding for this project. Therefore, our resources and time were very limited. In total, I spent four days with the characters of this documentary. One day to just talk and get to know each other and three days of shooting. We still keep in touch and love to share a drink and new stories with each other.
During the first day of shooting, we interviewed Koenraad and captured the parts where he is playing Bach on the piano. The second day we did the same, but then with Simon. Then on the third and final shooting day, we interviewed them together and captured their ‘quatre-mains’ on the piano. My DP Teun Poppe shot everything beautifully on Amira, in the cellar and attic of Koenraad’s house, with a basic EFP set of lights.
The sound is by Bart Martens and later mixes by sound designer Thomas Vertongen. We had a total of 5 post-production days, which meant I had to come in well prepared as we shot over 14 hours of footage. The editing, color grading was wonderfully is by my colleague Erika De Korte. As a team, we were all working concurrently on other projects. Such collaboration makes a huge difference when time is very limited.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
LH: I’m afraid I didn’t prepare for the festival run. Subscribing to festivals is something I wish I knew more about. Most of my projects are usually first pitched, and then funded by a broadcaster, so the festival circuit doesn’t often apply to those documentaries.
Nevertheless, I’ve made a couple of self-funded shorts (fiction and documentary) before this film and I have my own film freeway account. My only strategy is to always subscribe to the festivals where I’ve been selected before, and furthermore, try a few of the big A-festivals and some wild guesses of festivals I’ve heard or read good reviews about. Winning at The European Independent Film Festival gave a morale boost and some great exposure.
The Release?
LH: The film is doing its ‘festival run’ for a Belgium release at the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023 by Dalton Distribution. The film will play an educational role to students across Belgium.
We are also looking at opportunities to release the film in combination with the book my co-director Simon Demeulemeester is writing, as we speak. Also, we hope to release the film through VOD.
Advice from the Filmmaker?
LH: Becoming a filmmaker is in essence easy. All you have to do is grab a camera or a phone and shoot something. It’s the next step that makes it a difficult profession in my opinion. Everyone has access to some kind of equipment that, with the right mindset and motivation, shouldn’t withhold you from doing something creative with it. It’s less easy to find the bravery to then also get it out and show to the world what you have made.
The important thing is to simply, just do it. Digest the criticism and start over again. Even when you’re willing to do all this, there’s obviously always a money question, how to make a living… find a producer or funds, etc… I have been lucky enough to get the trust of two great production companies over the years, who helped me with the right connections, finding funds, broadcasters, etc…
Both companies collaborate to get things made than focus on profitability. Nevertheless, the only way I was able to do this, is by not shying away from other jobs that are more commercial but provided financial stability. I just see these as great playgrounds to sharpen my skills.
Keep in mind that support is not going to come and knock on your door. You will have to get out there, make films and show the world what you’ve made. Take some risks and don’t linger too much on a rejection!
In short, grab a camera or a phone and shoot something. There’s no excuse anymore not to. Be flexible; when there’s less budget, be more creative. But most importantly, finish what you start, even if it’s no good. I know lots of great filmmakers who have lots of good ideas but for some reason (self-criticism maybe), never seem able to finish or show a project, as they think it is not good enough. But to be able to make something good, you will have to be willing to make several bad things, how else will you be able to learn from your mistakes?!
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