Erwin Olafs Tadzio
Eye on Art: Erwin Olafs Tadzio
Two short films by Erwin Olaf from Eye's collection, Het rijke verdriet and Eye's restoration of Tadzio, introduced by Petra Keyser (Foundation Erwin Olaf) as well as a conversation with his co-director Frans Franciscus. (In Dutch)
More Tadzio
In the afternoon, Eye will screen Death in Venice, the Visconti film Tadzio refers to. After the Erwin Olaf screening, we will also screen the documentary The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, about the Swedish actor Björn Andrésen who died in late October. He was cast to play Tadzio in Death in Venice when he was 15. Visconti called him 'the most beautiful boy in the world' and that ruined Andrésen’s life: he struggled with addiction and depression, and was only ever cast in a few roles again.
Programme
Het rijke verdriet (Erwin Olaf, 2010, 11')
A young woman finds out she lives in an entirely different world than the 19th-century nobility. The film investigates looking, showing yourself off and feeling watched. The lead feels harassed by the film and sound equipment and flees. What can she do? Should she believe herself? Or submit to the opinions of others and accept her fate, the rich sadness?
The film is also an ode to Italian cinema, just like the next film to be screened Tadzio, including a conversation with co-director and artist Frans Franciscus (in Dutch).Tadzio (Erwin Olaf & Frans Franciscus, 1991, 32')
On a film set the female lead is preparing to shoot a feature film. In the meantime, her son is wandering around their home. That role was played by Aat Nederlof, an actor with Down Syndrome. He plays Tadzio, who in the film Death in Venice by Visconti plays a Polish youth who becomes an obsession for the older Gustav von Aschenbach. Famous Dutch artists such as Tosca Niterink, Arjen Ederveen, Hans van Manen and Theo van Gogh (in a tennis outfit à la Betty Stöve) made cameos. Ben van Os, the well-known designer who often worked with Peter Greenaway, designed the set. Marie Kooyman plays a film diva and Tadzio’s mother. Reinier van Brummelen, later Peter Greenaway and Ben Sombogaart’s preferred cameraman, provided the exquisite 16mm camera work in an underground style shot at the Oud Amelisweerd estate as part of the 'Film x Visual Art' programme which invited artists to respond the buildings.
This is part of
Special screenings
Details
Production year
2026
Length
88 min.
Event language
Dutch
Country
NL
Part of
Eye on Art
Eye on Art is a programme on the intersection between film and other arts. Eye on Art keeps up with current events, with presentations on contemporary artists and programmes that coincide with important exhibitions, manifestations and Eye activities.
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