Tolk van Java

About this case

After splendid interpretations by Max Havelaar, Heren van de Thee and De Stille Kracht, producer Hummelinck Stuurman closes her four-part theatre pieces about our colonial past in the Dutch East Indies with De tolk van Java. This story about fathers and sons, based on the autobiographical bestseller of Libris Literature Prize winner Alfred Birney, shows a underexposed perspective: the traumas that many mixed Dutch and Indian families were left with from their past.

Alan’s family and his childhood are determined by a tyrannical father. When Alan starts reading his earlier diaries about his life in India, his sarcasm and hatred falter. Is understanding possible?

Cinematography by Jim Stuurman
Color by Marco van Bergen @ Fireplace