Free film under the stars.

4 – 13 AUGUST
Het Stenen Hoofd, ground opens 16.00, films start at dusk, free

One of our favorite film festivals returns to the scene of the crime today and we couldn’t be happier. Pluk de Nacht is celebrating their eight edition this year by once again screening a selection of films that weren’t picked up by distributors in the Netherlands and were rarely, if at all, screened in the cinema. Besides a feature film, every screening also comes with a complementary short film and there’s also a bevy of breathtaking art, workshops, interactive installations and whatnot to explore and enjoy. The catering is in the capable hands of Rosa & Rita and the decidedly uncrappy Crepes stand is also back by popular demand. One of the best parts of the Pluk-experience is that there’s no entrance fee whatsoever, making it a very attractive event in these economically harsh times.

While the feature films themselves are all new to me, there are a couple of titles that can be recommended without question. Any arthouse film lover worth his or her salt has embraced the phenomenal character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman as one of his or her personal heroes, so it’s safe to say that Hoffman’s directorial debut, Jack Goes Boating will be right up their alley. Hoffman plays a shy, withdrawn limousine driver who goes on a blind date set up by his friends in a character-driven sweet indie film that doesn’t aim too high, but boasts some stellar performances. Jack Goes Boating will be screened on Friday 5 August. The Serbian equivalent of Jackass comes to us courtesy of Tilva Roš, in which two Serb slackers in a small town egg each other on in their self-destructive tendencies and vie for attention of a lovely French lass named Dunja. The main characters Stefan and Toda actually play themselves; they debuted in 2005 with their own Jackassery titled Crap – Pain is Empty (tag line: Two idiots, one camera…). Call me immature, but I’ve been thoroughly entertained by this brand of tomfoolery. Tilva Roš can be seen on Saturday 6 August.

The Danish prison flick R can be compared to the critically lauded and widely screened Une Prophète, but more intense and compressed into a film that’s an hour shorter. By using a cast of mostly ex-convicts and former prison guards, R manages to evoke an oppressive atmosphere of dread and gloom, which almost ensures that the comparatively happy end of Une Prophète won’t be mirrored in R. If you’re up for some depressing cinema in the Scandinavian style, Tuesday 9 August is your chance.

And on 11 August, the entire Pluk evening will revolve around the this edition’s Artist in Focus: the Swedish filmmaker and animator Johannes Nyholm. His grotesque claymation creation Little Puppetboy and his silhouette film Dreams from the Woods will contrast nicely with Las Palmas, his new film which will have its Dutch premiere at Pluk. In Las Palmas, Johannes lets his one year old daughter loose on a set representing a Spanish tourist trap. The ensuing Youtube hit: Drunk Baby Trashes Bar generated a staggering eleven million hits and was the perfect viral marketing tool for his metaphorical take on Western decadent tourist behavior. Watch it here.

So get off those asses and get yourself to Het Stenen Hoofd, you motherPlukkers!