Transit Levantkade / The Ants (Blank)

1/ TRANSIT LEVANTKADE
Stylised documentary portrait of the Amsterdam Levantkade, a quay in Amsterdam's old doc area, and the 'urban nomads' who in the late eighties sought refuge in this no-man's-land now cleared. In the twenties the Levantkade was a gateway for Eastern European migrants on their way to South America. In the eighties Levantkade became a haven for drop-outs, for foreigners and homeless people who lived here on an another planet until the police came to clear the area with wreckers. The film shows these 'urban Indians' in documentary form, interspersed with archive material about immigrants dating from 1926.

direction & script: Rosemarie Blank
production: CASA-Film, Amsterdam
The Netherlands 1991

b/w
duration: 75 minutes
Dutch,German, English and Italian spoken
(optional) subtitling: English, Dutch and German

2/ THE ANTS
The film traces the feelings of a woman living in a farm house in Italy. The woman tries to establish her daily rhythm. We see magnified pictures of her surroundings, particularly of insects. In one of her childhood memories-an Alsatian dog licks a girl’s heel between her legs. In a dream she stands naked in a pit that could be a grave. Some of the shots convey a sense of menace and introspection. Thanks to the measured performance by Marion van Wijk, superb lighting, black & white photography and well balanced editing, the Ants is a highly compelling and evocative film. (Alex de Ronde)

orig. title: The Ants / Die Ameisen / De Mieren
direction & script: Rosemarie Blank
production: Frans van der Staak, CASA-Film, Amsterdam
The Netherlands 1987

b/w
duration: 30 minuten
no dialogue