
Directing
Jos Stelling
Born 1945-07-16 · Utrecht, Netherlands
Jos Stelling (born July 16, 1945, in Utrecht, Netherlands) is a renowned Dutch filmmaker celebrated for his visually driven, dialogue-sparse style. A self-taught director, he debuted with "Mariken van Nieumeghen" (1974), which competed at Cannes, and went on to create acclaimed works such as "The Illusionist" (1983), "The Pointsman" (1986), and "The Waiting Room" (1995). In 1981, he founded the Dutch Film Days, the precursor to the Netherlands Film Festival, and later became a key figure in Utrecht’s arthouse cinema scene by opening the Springhaver and Louis Hartlooper Complex. Known for exploring the tension between opposites—desire and restraint, connection and solitude—Stelling crafts poetic, often humorous portraits of human nature without relying on words, earning multiple Golden Calf awards and international recognition for his singular cinematic voice.
Acting credits
Behind the camera
8.0Young people meet in the local pub and pretend a lot more than they are. Mostly their swanky conduct is touching and affecting. There is a lot of attention for the clothes, hair-dress, music and cars of the sixties. Some of the amateur-actors became later well-known Dutch actors and directors.
The Pretenders
1981
6.7A woman gets off a train by mistake and finds herself stranded alone with a peculiar man who doesn't even speak her language.
The Pointsman
1986
6.7A woman gets off a train by mistake and finds herself stranded alone with a peculiar man who doesn't even speak her language.
The Pointsman
1986
5.8A vagabond travels through medieval Holland.
Everyman
1975
5.8A vagabond travels through medieval Holland.
Everyman
1975
5.8A vagabond travels through medieval Holland.
Everyman
1975
5.1An older film critic's life is interrupted by an unexpected visitor.
Duska
2007
5.1An older film critic's life is interrupted by an unexpected visitor.
Duska
2007
6.8Two brothers end up separated for one of them has mental issues. Meanwhile one of the two follows his dream in becoming a magician.
The Illusionist
1983
6.8Two brothers end up separated for one of them has mental issues. Meanwhile one of the two follows his dream in becoming a magician.
The Illusionist
1983
6.8Two brothers end up separated for one of them has mental issues. Meanwhile one of the two follows his dream in becoming a magician.
The Illusionist
1983
7.4The film takes place in a small cafe on the forecourt. When Gerard, one of the regular visitors, appears in the cafe to inform him that he is leaving, the usual course of the cafe's life suddenly breaks.
No Trains No Planes
1999
7.4The film takes place in a small cafe on the forecourt. When Gerard, one of the regular visitors, appears in the cafe to inform him that he is leaving, the usual course of the cafe's life suddenly breaks.
No Trains No Planes
1999
7.4The film takes place in a small cafe on the forecourt. When Gerard, one of the regular visitors, appears in the cafe to inform him that he is leaving, the usual course of the cafe's life suddenly breaks.
No Trains No Planes
1999
4.5A chance meeting between Nicolai and Nina, a friend from the past, makes Nicolai return to an abandoned hotel in which, many years ago, he experienced his only love, full of tragedy and an overwhelming feeling.
The Girl and Death
2012
4.5A chance meeting between Nicolai and Nina, a friend from the past, makes Nicolai return to an abandoned hotel in which, many years ago, he experienced his only love, full of tragedy and an overwhelming feeling.
The Girl and Death
2012
6.3Late 16th century, persecuted protestantism and general dissatisfaction with the Catholic Habsburg rule in the Netherlands lead to large-scale plundering and vandalizing of churches, only harshening the Spanish Inquisition, sparkling the Eighty Years War.
The Flying Dutchman
1995
6.3Late 16th century, persecuted protestantism and general dissatisfaction with the Catholic Habsburg rule in the Netherlands lead to large-scale plundering and vandalizing of churches, only harshening the Spanish Inquisition, sparkling the Eighty Years War.
The Flying Dutchman
1995
6.3Late 16th century, persecuted protestantism and general dissatisfaction with the Catholic Habsburg rule in the Netherlands lead to large-scale plundering and vandalizing of churches, only harshening the Spanish Inquisition, sparkling the Eighty Years War.
The Flying Dutchman
1995
6.6An acknowledged master of the short sans dialogue, Jos Stelling won a bundle of awards for THE WAITING ROOM at festivals in Holland, Russia, and Switzerland. And if you thought that richly inventive spoof of the leering macho in God?s Little Acre, the crowded waiting room of your local railway station, was one of the luniest Erotic Tales ever made, then buckle your seat belt for a ride down Life?s Great Battlefield: the expressway during rush hour! Take the boredom of the slow lane, add the spice of one-upmanship, top it off with a delightful girl-boy butting match, and what?s missing? A layover at the next gas station.
The Gas Station
2000
6.1In the final year of his life, Rembrandt painted a series of self-portraits that show him in a dark, lonely state of mind. Stelling has painstakingly recreated the pathetic end of a genius with an authenticity that allows viewers to infer their own conclusions about the relationship between Rembrandt's life and art.
Rembrandt fecit 1669
1977
6.1In the final year of his life, Rembrandt painted a series of self-portraits that show him in a dark, lonely state of mind. Stelling has painstakingly recreated the pathetic end of a genius with an authenticity that allows viewers to infer their own conclusions about the relationship between Rembrandt's life and art.
Rembrandt fecit 1669
1977
6.1In the final year of his life, Rembrandt painted a series of self-portraits that show him in a dark, lonely state of mind. Stelling has painstakingly recreated the pathetic end of a genius with an authenticity that allows viewers to infer their own conclusions about the relationship between Rembrandt's life and art.
Rembrandt fecit 1669
1977
7.8In «The Gallery» Gene finds himself the sensual object of a beautiful woman's desire. So when, suddenly and unexpectedly, she begins to strip for his pleasure ... one good turn deserves another ...
The Gallery
2003
