Punks shows three Dutch teenagers whose behaviour is criminal. They are trying to better their lives with the help of a no-nonsense caretaker, somewhere deep in rural France. If they fail, they will be handed over to a closed juvenile home. In Punks the filmmaker is in search of the root cause of the survival strategies that derailed and unmanageable young people have developed. What makes these kids so angry, indifferent, numb and even unscrupulous? What happened to them? Why do they behave the way they do?
Punks / Rotjochies
A film by
“She films with feeling, without ever getting sentimental or sensationalist. It is all about being at the right place, at the right time.”
“She films with feeling, without ever getting sentimental or sensationalist. It is all about being at the right place, at the right time.”
Maasja Ooms
Biography
Maasja Ooms has completed the Photo Academy and the Film Academy in the early nineties. After having worked as a cinematographer for about 15 years, she has developed herself into an editor. At first she worked on documentaries she had filmed herself, later on she also edited other films and worked as an edit coach. Because of her strong involvement as a cinematographer with respect to content, the films became a collaborative effort, in co direction.
In 2013 Maasja started an extensive research, focussing on observations about the behaviour between people. This led to the production of two films, which Maasja directed, filmed and edited. Tussen Mensen (55’, VPRO, 2015) and ALICIA (90’, VPRO, 2017, IDFA Dutch competition).
Filmography
- Punks – 2019 – feature length documentary
- Alicia – 2017 – feature length documentary
- Tussen Mensen – 2015 – mid length documentary
