Production Company: Arteffects
Client: Bridge to Liberation, JMT Management
Creative director: Victor van Vloten
Producers: Marieke van Kessel, Sandra Bulter, Marieke Cillessen, Carmen Benneker
1st AD: Carmen Benneker
Director: Klaas Arie Westland
Dop: Jelmer van Son
Gaffer: Suus van der Geest
1st AC: Jur van IJperenburg, Pjotr Kranenberg
Sound: Supermassive
Grading: Alexander Rambonnet
Copy: Nazmiye Oral
Accountmanager: Marieke Cillessen
In 2023, we filmed the story of Operation Market Garden through the eyes of two women—one living north of the Rhine, the other south. One would be liberated, while the other still faced the most challenging part of the war. This is the story of a horrific conflict, not seen through the eyes of soldiers, but through those of caretakers.
The filmmaking process presented quite a few challenges. Unlike a typical film, we also had to think about how the film would be integrated into the overall show. We eventually decided to focus on key moments that our main characters had lived through.
We built the sets in a way that allowed us to place all the characters and extras within the scene, and let them play out the events. This approach gave the film an almost documentary-like feel, adopting a more "guerilla" style of filmmaking. However, we did have the advantage of using many props and filming in a controlled environment.
In addition to being a deeply meaningful project due to the weight of the subject matter, it was also a lot of fun. We worked with reenactor groups and actors and had significant creative freedom when selecting props. With a small crew, we did much of the set building ourselves. Every prop you see was carefully placed—before filming began, the buildings were empty, so you can imagine the amount of effort that went into creating these scenes.
It’s an incredibly special feeling when all the hard work from the team comes together in the final show. Seeing your work projected on a screen as large as the John Frost Bridge is something truly extraordinary, and it’s an experience I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. If you’d like to get a glimpse of what it was like, you can watch the live show here.
