As a cameraman I've travelled the whole world, but it's the stories from around the corner that are dearest to me.
After working on the series Klassen and Schuldig as cameraman and photographer, I got to put my eye behind the camera again for Ester Gould's new documentary Tortelduifjes. We dived back into the world of an old acquaintance: Dennis, the modest, kind pet-shop owner from the Vogelbuurt.
While he was carrying the loss of his father, a new customer arrived and turned everything around. It was the moment colour returned to his life. We were allowed to capture the stages of that early love,from their first happiness to the birth of their daughter Asmina. It even led to a first in my career: my first official pregnancy shoot.
It was wonderful to walk through my familiar neighbourhood with a camera again. Thanks to the years of trust built up by researcher Manon van der Sluijs and directors Ester Gould and Sarah Sylbing, we could pick up the thread effortlessly. That produced honest, intimate moments you cannot direct.
Beyond a love story, Tortelduifjes is an ode to the human scale. In a hardening world, Dennis reminds us that genuine care and human contact are the real values to hold on to.