Is there a more famous Dutch export than Vincent van Gogh? The Impressionist painter and his masterworks were ignored during his short, feverish life, and he died in total obscurity. Which is where he may have remained, had his visionary sister-in-law Johanna van Gogh-Bonger not recognised his genius, and vowed to proclaim it to the world.
In her feature doc project, Dutch filmmaker Willemiek Kluijfhout sets out to tell the little-known story of Jo, at the same time emphasising a wider dilemma. “Jo’s story and her tireless efforts to make Vincent’s work accessible to the world remain relatively unknown,” she says. “[This] reflects a broader pattern, of how women’s contributions are too often overlooked or diminished.”
Featuring leading Dutch actor Gaite Jansen and sold by Film Harbour, the film is bound to be of enormous interest to both industry and public alike. “For film partners, the project combines an exceptionally recognisable global brand with a story that still feels genuinely undiscovered,” Sandra Bolz, Production Manager (Docs) of Amsterdam-based 100%, tells Business Doc Europe.
“Van Gogh is one of the world’s most recognised artists. His paintings, letters and life continue to attract enormous audiences internationally, while museums, exhibitions, books and immersive experiences demonstrate that public fascination with him extends far beyond a traditional art audience. But this is not another Van Gogh biography. It offers audiences who believe they know his story a completely different way into it: through the woman who shaped how the world came to understand him.”
The hook for audiences is just as compelling, Bolz adds. “How can we all know Van Gogh, but not know the woman without whom we might never have known him?” she asks. “The film is built on Jo’s own diaries and letters, which she started writing at 17. Through them we get to know her as a young woman with her own ambitions, doubts and desires, who loved, lost and kept going.”
But the film asks other, arguably more pertinent questions. “History remembers the genius. But who creates the conditions for genius to survive? Who preserves the work, tells the story, builds the audience and decides what becomes part of our cultural memory? If the woman behind one of the most famous artists in history could almost disappear from history herself, who else have we forgotten?”
Not surprisingly, Dutch outfit 100% is looking to deliver a highly visual, cinematic work. “Rather than illustrating Jo’s life as a conventional historical documentary, we want to create the feeling that we are entering her world and experiencing it through her eyes. A group of women, including novelist Caroline Cauchi (‘Mrs Van Gogh’), author Silke Riemann and curator Maaike Rikhof, tell Jo’s story, each with their own take on her. Jo’s own voice comes from her diaries and letters.”
“We create what we call a ‘re-imagined archive: fragments of Jo’s life filmed with [Jansen], but deliberately avoiding the polished conventions of historical reconstruction,” Bolz adds. “This is not a costume drama and we don’t recreate scenes in a classical way. Instead, cinematographer Dionne Cats shoots these moments as if someone had been there with a small camera in the late nineteenth century.”
Director Willemiek Kluijfhout has twice seen films selected for Berlinale; L’amour des moules (2012) and Sergio Herman: Fucking Perfect (2015), the latter gaining more than 45,000 admissions in The Netherlands and Belgium combined. Her The Taste of Desire (2021) had its international premiere at Hot Docs, while her docuseries De Opvolging reached more than half a million viewers.
“Willemiek has spent years researching Johanna with historians and read all of her diaries, and found in her a woman far beyond her time,” Bolz tells BDE of her director. “She combines a strong artistic signature with a broad audience – an essential combination for this film. This balance between artistic ambition and accessibility is particularly important for The Woman Who Made Van Gogh famous. Willemiek knows how to take a cultural subject and find the intimate, emotional human story within it.”
The film has a run-time of 85 minutes. German outfit Corso Film takes a co-pro credit, and backing was sourced via the Netherlands Film Fund (NL), NPO Fonds (NL), Creative Europe (EU), VPRO (NL), VandenEnde Foundation (NL), Cinedeli (NL). Corso is currently looking to secure the German financing. In Utrecht, 100% is looking for international distribution partners, broadcasters and streamers, as well as a festival premiere.
“Every film I make reflects the questions that occupy me at that moment in my life,” director Kluijfhout further underlines. “This one asks what it means to tell history from a woman’s perspective, and what responsibility I carry as a female filmmaker in doing so. I hope this film gives Jo the recognition she deserves and inspires others with her courage, determination and unwavering belief in her own vision.”
