Claire Pijman

"Talking Guitars" is an intimate portrait of master guitar craftsman, Flip Scipio. The behind-the-scenes music-documentary illustrates the fascinating juxtaposition of the quiet artist and the world of musicians who seek his expertise. His clients include Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Ben Taylor, Paul Simon, David Tronzo, Leni Stern and Carly Simon. It is claimed that Flip "can make the worst piece of sh*t sing". For himself "Music is like Esperanto"; a universal language.

A film about third-generation artists with Indonesian roots who embrace their cultural heritage in their work. Director Claire Pijman portrays Nusantara Beat, the popular band that sings in Bahasa Indonesia and Sundanese. Vanja van der Leeden, a culinary artist who looks beyond the ‘rijsttafel’. Myrthe Groot & Romee Mulder of fashion atelier Guave, who design clothing made from batik. And Sekan, DJ / photographer / founder of record label Jiwa2, who is putting Indonesian pop music from the ’70s and ’80s back on the map. All artists collaborate with artists from Indonesia, allowing the viewer to also be taken into present-day Indonesia.

In the summer of 2005, Piet Oomes went to Sumatra with his mother Ank and his aunt Guus, to look for the Japanese concentration camps where the two had been interned with their mother in World War II. During the trip, it becomes clear that the filmmaker is mainly making a personal quest: for an explanation of the reserved relationship he has with his mother. The camera registers the collisions the two have been having for forty years. 'I keep my mouth shut', mother Ank spews in a rare outburst of emotions. Their digging in the past brings tears to the eyes of Piet's aunt, but his mother only makes rational analyses. Eventually, their visit to the site of the last camp, Aek Pamingke, which has now been replaced by rubber plantation, brings about a long-awaited breakthrough - though the tears are kept back even then.

For her extraordinary film essay, Living the Light, Director and Director of Photography Claire Pijman had access to the thousands of Hi8 video diaries, pictures and Polaroids that Müller photographed while he was at work on one of the more than 70 features he shot throughout his career; often with long term collaborators such as Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch and Lars von Trier. The film intertwines these images with excerpts of his oeuvre, thus creating a fluid and cinematic continuum. In his score for Living the Light Jim Jarmusch gives this wide raging scale of life and art an additional musical voice.

An elderly actress arrives at her holiday home in Bretagne to prepare for a new film. She brings with her numerous scrapbooks and countless film memorabilia. With a personal oeuvre of more than fifty films, the past and present sometimes intertwine. Images of the woman in her beach house mirror images from her films, and images from films intertwine with events from her own life. When a young cyclist breaks down near the house, he challenges the actress to dig deeper into her past. They spend a compact day together. Every question, every image, every article triggers a memory for the woman.

Director Claire Pijman portrays her father Boy Pijman who was born in the Dutch East Indies. When his children ask, Boy Pijman tells his story that he had never spoken about before; his three years as a prisoner of war in Japanese Camp during the Second World War.

"Talking Guitars" is an intimate portrait of master guitar craftsman, Flip Scipio. The behind-the-scenes music-documentary illustrates the fascinating juxtaposition of the quiet artist and the world of musicians who seek his expertise. His clients include Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Ben Taylor, Paul Simon, David Tronzo, Leni Stern and Carly Simon. It is claimed that Flip "can make the worst piece of sh*t sing". For himself "Music is like Esperanto"; a universal language.

A film about third-generation artists with Indonesian roots who embrace their cultural heritage in their work. Director Claire Pijman portrays Nusantara Beat, the popular band that sings in Bahasa Indonesia and Sundanese. Vanja van der Leeden, a culinary artist who looks beyond the ‘rijsttafel’. Myrthe Groot & Romee Mulder of fashion atelier Guave, who design clothing made from batik. And Sekan, DJ / photographer / founder of record label Jiwa2, who is putting Indonesian pop music from the ’70s and ’80s back on the map. All artists collaborate with artists from Indonesia, allowing the viewer to also be taken into present-day Indonesia.

In the summer of 2005, Piet Oomes went to Sumatra with his mother Ank and his aunt Guus, to look for the Japanese concentration camps where the two had been interned with their mother in World War II. During the trip, it becomes clear that the filmmaker is mainly making a personal quest: for an explanation of the reserved relationship he has with his mother. The camera registers the collisions the two have been having for forty years. 'I keep my mouth shut', mother Ank spews in a rare outburst of emotions. Their digging in the past brings tears to the eyes of Piet's aunt, but his mother only makes rational analyses. Eventually, their visit to the site of the last camp, Aek Pamingke, which has now been replaced by rubber plantation, brings about a long-awaited breakthrough - though the tears are kept back even then.

For her extraordinary film essay, Living the Light, Director and Director of Photography Claire Pijman had access to the thousands of Hi8 video diaries, pictures and Polaroids that Müller photographed while he was at work on one of the more than 70 features he shot throughout his career; often with long term collaborators such as Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch and Lars von Trier. The film intertwines these images with excerpts of his oeuvre, thus creating a fluid and cinematic continuum. In his score for Living the Light Jim Jarmusch gives this wide raging scale of life and art an additional musical voice.

An elderly actress arrives at her holiday home in Bretagne to prepare for a new film. She brings with her numerous scrapbooks and countless film memorabilia. With a personal oeuvre of more than fifty films, the past and present sometimes intertwine. Images of the woman in her beach house mirror images from her films, and images from films intertwine with events from her own life. When a young cyclist breaks down near the house, he challenges the actress to dig deeper into her past. They spend a compact day together. Every question, every image, every article triggers a memory for the woman.

Director Claire Pijman portrays her father Boy Pijman who was born in the Dutch East Indies. When his children ask, Boy Pijman tells his story that he had never spoken about before; his three years as a prisoner of war in Japanese Camp during the Second World War.

Mother of Claire Pijman moves to Amsterdam after her husband’s death to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren. Claire and her sister try to combine the care of their mother with their work. When her mother’s dementia becomes more and more apparent, nursing home seems inevitable. This end turns into a farewell story that goes back and forth between conscience, guilt, and powerlessness…