Jos Stelling

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

The Pretenders poster
8.0

Young 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

The Pointsman poster
6.7

A 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

The Pointsman poster
6.7

A 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

Everyman poster
5.8

A vagabond travels through medieval Holland.

Everyman

1975

Everyman poster
5.8

A vagabond travels through medieval Holland.

Everyman

1975

Everyman poster
5.8

A vagabond travels through medieval Holland.

Everyman

1975

Duska poster
5.1

An older film critic's life is interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

Duska

2007

Duska poster
5.1

An older film critic's life is interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

Duska

2007

The Illusionist poster
6.8

Two 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

The Illusionist poster
6.8

Two 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

The Illusionist poster
6.8

Two 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

No Trains No Planes poster
7.4

The 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

No Trains No Planes poster
7.4

The 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

No Trains No Planes poster
7.4

The 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

The Girl and Death poster
4.5

A 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

The Girl and Death poster
4.5

A 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

The Flying Dutchman poster
6.3

Late 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

The Flying Dutchman poster
6.3

Late 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

The Flying Dutchman poster
6.3

Late 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

The Gas Station poster
6.6

An 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

Rembrandt fecit 1669 poster
6.1

In 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

Rembrandt fecit 1669 poster
6.1

In 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

Rembrandt fecit 1669 poster
6.1

In 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

The Gallery poster
7.8

In «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