Last Friday in Noord-Scharwoude, the Geoffrey Donaldson Institute (GDI) shot scenes for a short movie. A professional film crew filmed on the corner near the building that houses the GDI. Filming took place on the Dorpsstraat, in front of the Primera shop and in the vicinity of the Jacob Jong bridge across the Achterburggracht. The movie stars ‘Green Man’ Jan Jansen who has not been heard of since his last scenes were shot on Friday evening.
Director Emiel de Jong films Green Man Jan Jansen. Photo: Eddy Hooiveld
On Friday morning 15th July, twenty people gathered in the GDI to make a short film. Among them, actresses, actors and the film crew. It took a great deal of preparation and waiting, but director Emiel de Jong is very happy with the sets and the performances given by the actors. The film, entitled ‘The Creature from under the Bridge’, is expected to premiere on 25 September during the ‘Verhalen Halen’ event in Langedijk. Egbert Barten says of the film: ‘This short movie is what is referred to in the film world as a spoof, a parody of – in this case – fifties horror flicks’.
The Green Man – who stands more than two metres tall – is inspired by the fifties classic ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ – an ominous fantasy figure created by the Groningen sculptor F.G. Windt in 1985. The Green Man was last seen on Friday night in the water beneath the Jacob Jong bridge on the Willem de Zwijgerstraat.
The film stars various people from Noord-Scharwoude, including Joyce Wouters as the investigator, Jos Kreuk as the professor, Hennie Neesen and Marjan Glas as the camping scientists, Jeroen Haesenbos and Maarten Neesen as waiters, Rick Ooteman as a stormtrooper, Leo Glas as Elvis Presley and Bart Vermeer from Belgium as the director.
Bart Vermeer, Joyce Wouters and The Green Man Jan Jansen. Photo: Eddy Hooiveld
The GDI promotes research into film production and screenings and manages an extensive collection of films. The exhibition space of the GDI is open to visitors every Monday and Wednesday between 14.00 and 17.00 hrs and entry is free. Other times can be arranged by appointment. The Geoffrey Donaldson Institute operates out of Dorpsstraat 612 in Noord-Scharwoude. The GDI is a private initiative with no government subsidy.