THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Born and studied in Amsterdam, it was India that won the heart of Holland filmmaker Louk Vreeswijk. “The people and the pitch for documentaries inspired me to settle down in India,” said Louk, who for the past 10 years calls Almora in Uttarakhand his home.
He first came to Kerala in 1979 to capture the lives of coir and cashew workers while studying cultural anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. “I came to Alappuzha to make the documentary ‘Made in India’. The documentary revolves around the difficulties faced by coir and cashew workers. It depicts Kerala during the 1970s, how workers were exploited, the culture and the protests,” he said. “Most of my films are a result of thorough research. It marks an anthropological approach and view,” he said.
According to Louk, Indian documentaries failed to convince the audience. “Indian documentaries are less open to critics and critical documentaries are not appreciated here,” said Louk.
A veteran filmmaker himself, Louk said youngsters should look to find their own identity in filmmaking. “It is difficult to find an identity in the era of commercial movies. But the young generation must not fall prey to commercialisation if you want to be a feature filmmaker,” he said.
A regular visitor to IFFK for the past eight years, he is thrilled to see the long queues of film lovers.
He said the film festival has got a good collection of crowd pullers. “I feel lively and the crowd here is amazing. I’m extremely happy with the film lovers and the long queues. Moreover, it is an opportunity for me to meet my film loving friends whom I befriended during my earlier visits,” he said.