Cinema for me is…
Rowan in 23 Frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words.
Sociologist/aspiring cultural analyst who enjoys analyzing film and art (worlds).
2. Your best quality? Your worst habit?
I like to be outspoken about things I find interesting and/or important. I’m trying to beat the habit of procrastinating my work.
3. Your dream job?
Curator or programmer, either in something film-related or in an art museum.
4. What do you like most about your country?
Having different seasons and the proximity to other European countries.
5. Your favorite dish in your country?
I don’t really cook a lot of traditional food of my country, but I always tell people to try a treat called ‘stroopwafels’.
6. Which word or phrase in your native language do you like the most and what does it mean?
“Zwarte Piet is racisme” is currently an important, political phrase to me in Dutch.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
I visited my best friend who’s living in Paris in July.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
I would like to spend some time living in another European city, currently London, Berlin, Brussels or Madrid are on my list of potential locations.
9. What does Europe mean to you? 3 values.
Closeness, relationality and difference.
10. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
Gaspar Noé’s ways of creating an overwhelming cinematic experience really changed the way I view cinema as an artform. I think Enter the Void (Gaspar Noé, 2009, FR) was the first of his I watched.
11. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
Of course my home cinema Rialto, the building has a very glamorous vintage look to it, which adds to the film experience. They also support the film platform I am editor of, LA RIOT, and I really appreciate the freedom they give us to do whatever we want with our programming.
12. Who is your movie hero?
Bong Joon Ho.
13. Which movie director would you like to be?
Agnes Varda.
14. Briefly describe your favorite scene.
I was in awe with the film Victoria which is basically one long scene as it was shot in one take.
15. What are the 3 best European films you have seen in the last year?
I loved Drama Girl (Vincent Boy Kars, 2020, NL), Ruben Brandt, Collector (Milorad Kristić, 2018, HU) and Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Céline Sciamma, 2019, FR).
16. Which film character do you most identify with?
I find it impossible to pick just one, as there are always small things about characters that you relate to in different ways.
17. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
I recently watched Waves (Trey Edward Schultz, 2019, US) and loved how he used Tame Impala’s “Be Above It” in the opening sequence. That band is one of my favorites as well.
18. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
Would love to spend a summer in the villa of Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017, IT).
19. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
Maybe Florence Pugh? Loved her in Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019, US).
20. Which talent would you most like to have?
Hard to pick just one, but I would love to really master one artistic craft, like painting or sculpting.
21. What is your most treasured possession?
I try to not get too attached to possessions.
22. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I’m pretty happy about being on my way to getting my second master’s degree next year.
23. What is your motto?
“To be truly visionary we have to root our imagination in our concrete reality while simultaneously imagining possibilities beyond that reality” (bell hooks).