Identity
Role models – and the freedom to become someone else.
Who inspires us to become who we are – and who we might become? Join us for a special film evening with Dutch filmmaker Nienke Eijsink and Professor Klaus Hoefs, who will present and discuss their films FAN and Onkels and I.
In FAN (2009, 52min) Nienke revisits her teenage obsession with a star of the Australian eighties TV series The Flying Doctors, a fascination that also marked the beginning of discovering her attraction to women. Back then, in a world before the internet when TV series were still shot on film, a role model on the other side of the world was truly out of reach. Made on virtually no budget, long before iPhones could shoot video or social media existed, this autobiographical documentary follows Nienke’s journey to Australia in search of her former idol, hoping that her debut film might just spark the comeback of the star she once admired.
In the animated film Onkels and I (2024, 17min), Klaus looks back on growing up in a small village in Lower Saxony, surrounded by traditional ideas of masculinity that left little room for the person he wanted to become and how to break free from that.
Both films explore how role models shape us – and what happens when we don’t see ourselves reflected in the world around us. What if you don’t fit the expectations of your cultural background, your community or the people around you? What if you feel like an outsider, even among your peers? How do you find your own voice, develop your own artistic perspective?
Attendance is mandatory for all participants of Nienke’s workshop. All other students and staff of the faculty are warmly invited to join us!