The manifesto is signed by dozens of colleagues, countless media appearances follow, but in the end real change does not come. In the three-part series Op de vijfde rij at De Fantasten, Cesar Majorana investigates what became of De Fantasten. Why did the manifesto not have the desired impact? Does the 'dictatorship of realism' still exist? And isn't it high time for a new pamphlet?
Op de vijfde rij at De Fantasten
In 1999, three young filmmakers wrote a manifesto to end 'the dictatorship of realism' in Dutch cinema. They call themselves De Fantasten and argue for a major cultural change: there must be much more room for imagination and fantasy. "Down with the air of Brussels sprouts!"
illustration: Aafke Bouman
Episode 1: Where have our fantastic films gone?
In episode 1 Cesar returns to 1999 and comes across a letter that De Fantasten once wrote to Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, director Lodewijk Crijns explains why he never signed the manifesto and Martin Koolhoven argues for a new group of filmmakers who manifest themselves strongly.
Episode 2: Journey to the Promised Land
For many Dutch filmmakers, Belgium is a shining example. Why do they manage to make exciting, innovative and imaginative cinema time and again, with the same limited resources?
In this second episode of a triptych about (the lack of) imagination and fantasy in Dutch cinema, inspired by the manifesto of De Fantasten from 1999, Cesar Majorana travels to the Ostend film festival to find out how they do things differently or better in Belgium (and Flanders in particular). And what is their image of Dutch cinema? Are we just a factory for mainstream films and rom-coms, or are Dutch filmmakers on the rise?
Episode 3: A new revolution
In episode two of our podcast, Cesar Majorana got an idea: a new manifesto. Written by a new group of young filmmakers who want to take the world by storm. But if there's anything we can learn from the past, from the three friends who wrote the Manifesto for the Imagination in 1999, it's that you can't go on forever saying you want better.
The new revolution must be different. And so in the final episode, Cesar goes in search of an ambitious film plan that can give an entire generation of makers the belief that it is possible.
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