Documentary Films

Since 2010, among many other productions, we have written, produced and directed two long documentaries with funding from Dutch public broadcasting, the Netherlands Film Fund, CoboFonds, the Mediafonds and European partners. We made BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP in 2014, and we filmed MY SOUL DRIFTS LIGHT UPON A SEA OF TREES in Japan in 2017. The latter film premiered in competition at IDFA 2018 in the category Best Dutch Long Documentary.

You can watch the trailers of both films on our BUZZBYTES CHANNEL on YouTube.

You can also watch both DOCUMENTARIES and other works on our VIMEO CHANNEL.

BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP
(NL 2014, 93 minutes)
A charismatic abalone poacher. A dead son. A broken love story.

Three storylines bound together by a single theme: the curse of the abalone. Abalone is an endangered marine snail that’s prized as an aphrodisiac and status symbol in China, but illegal harvesting has disastrous consequences for the traditional fishing community of Hawston near Cape Town in South Africa. ‘Between the Devil and the Deep’ offers a moving glimpse into the hearts and lives of three mixed-race families in a traditional fishing community that’s suspended in a limbo between traditional lifestyle, daily survival and the trappings of a corrupt and brutal enforcement apparatus, which has left countless victims in its wake. The film follows the protagonists in their community, on land, on sea, and underwater, as they tread the thin line between survival and destruction, life and death: of the abalone, and of the people. The film includes going out with abalone poachers in shark-infested waters, a high-speed chase at sea, and intimate and touching moments with the main characters.

Watch the TRAILER on our BUZZBYTES CHANNEL on YouTube.

Watch the 93-minute film BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP on VIMEO.COM.

KEY CREW
Director/Writer: HEINRICH DAHMS
Producer: MICHELE AIMÉ
Co-producer: VISUALANTICS BELGIUM
Co-producer: EVANGELISCH OMROEP (Dutch Public Broadcaster) Camera: JOHAN BOSGRAAF
Editor: HEINRICH DAHMS
Funding: NETHERLANDS FILM FUND / COBOFONDS

MY SOUL DRIFTS LIGHT UPON A SEA OF TREES
(NL 2017, 95 minutes)
Zen Buddhist Itettsu Nemoto has made it his life’s mission to support individuals struggling with depression and suicidal behaviour. Operating from a small temple in the high mountains of Central Japan, he has helped hundreds of individuals rediscover the beauty of life after years in the darkness of limbo. MY SOUL DRIFTS LIGHT UPON A SEA OF TREES is the story of Itettsu Nemoto and three people who found life after limbo.

Watch the TRAILER on our BUZZBYTES CHANNEL on YouTube.

Watch the 95-minute version of MY SOUL DRIFTS LIGHT UPON A SEA OF TREES on VIMEO.COM.

KEY CREW
Director/Writer: HEINRICH DAHMS
Producer: MICHELE AIMÉ
Co-producer: LAETITIA SCHOOFS / KRO-NCRV
Camera: ALEXANDER DAHMS
Editor: HEINRICH DAHMS
Sound: HEINRICH DAHMS
Music: MOCCA
Funding: NETHERLANDS FILM FUND / MEDIAFONDS