JOHAN'S DIRECTOR
JOHAN KRAMER
The name of the writer and director of this movie is – not a big surprise – Johan. And yes, he was crazy as well about Johan Neeskens and he also stepped in front of the class when he was 8 years old to tell everyone his name was Johan from now on and not Jan Jasper anymore. Johan Kramer is 45 years old and made in 2002 the much awarded film ‘The Other Final’ about a football game between the two lowest ranked football teams in the world, that played against each other on the same day as the World Cup Final. In 2008 Johan shot his first feature film: Sing for Darfur, that was exclaimed best dramatic feature at the 2009 European Independent Film Festival in Paris. Apart from writing and directing movies, Johan also shoots commercials through production company 328 Stories, for example the latest Nike football campaign. More of his work you’ll find on www.helloiamjohankramer.com
How did this project start?
I love the romance of football and what this game does with people. For a while, I was thinking about an interesting form to tell such a story. The last years I worked a lot in Barcelona and during one of these visits, I was sitting in a coffeebar near the stadium Nou Camp. While enjoying a cortado, the idea of this extreme football ritual came to me of a man who keeps driving around the stadium. It’s bizarre what football can do with people, a Spanish friend of mine always is hiding in his bed when Barca plays, listening to the music of The Cure on his headphones. When I had this idea of 50 rounds, I walked a lot around the stadium and got inspired by all the things I saw happening around me. Soon I started writing and it ended up as this modern fairytale about rituals, love, fathers, winning and losing.
Why 50 rounds a day?
Well, I liked the fact that it’s a fulltime-job. He’s busy with this driving all the time. In that sense, it’s a metaphor for constantly doing the same thing, which in a way most people do. They go to the same job, they make the same misstakes, they have the same responses. People just love habits, because that feels safe and it’s quite coureagous to break out of them.
How did you make the film happen?
Since it was a story taking place in Barcelona with Spanish actors,
I first went to look for funding in Spain, with my friends from Agosto. This is a production company that represents me in Spain for commercial work. The Film Instititutions in Spain loved the project, but felt there were too many Dutch people involved.
And since I really wanted to work with my Dutch cameraman and Dutch production designer, I went back to Holland. The Dutch production company Pupkin Film got involved and soon after the Dutch Film Fund with the inspiring help of Jan Eilander. From first idea to final movie, it took four years.
Can you introduce your crew to me?
For a long time, I try to work with a lot of the same people. Although we are from different places, it really feels like a group
of friends, doing something special together. Most of these people have become true friends. Together with cameraman Wouter Westendorp and production designer Rikke Jelier, we talked endlessly about this movie and how to deal with it. Other crucial members of the team were Spanish producers Esther de Udaeta, Ernest Gual and first assistant Tirso Diaz-Jares. Then I have to mention stylist Rene Zamudio, editor Annelien van Wijnbergen, composer Tom Holkenborg, title designer Paul Freeth and sound designer Marcel Walvisch. All people I know for some time and whose contributions I appreciate so much. My aim is to give them all as much freedom as possible within the frame of a strong idea and clear direction. They are all so good, that sometimes I only have to watch and see it happen by magic.
How did you find Johan and Paquita?
I have worked a lot in Barcelona on commercial and art projects,
I also shot my first movie Sing for Darfur there. This was a film with 40 mini-stories, so we needed many different actors and actresses. I was really lucky that the two of the best casting directors – Pep Armengol and Luci Lennox – got involved. This gave me a wealth of choices. One of them was Aurora Cayero, who played a small part in Sing, but I instantly knew she would be a great Paquita. In her scene, she played with a man called Jose Luis Adserias. Although he was the complete opposite of what I imagined for the role of Johan, he made a big impression. Jose Luis was so professional and acted very natural. I don’t know when I came to me, but more and more I got convinced they were a good couple. And over the last two years, we’ve met up a lot and talked about the possibility of doing this movie.
How did you prepare Aurora and Jose Luis for their parts?
It’s clear that a movie like Johan Primero has a very limited budget. So, much time to experiment and try things out, acting-wise was not there. This meant that we had to prepare very well. We spent a lot of time rehearsing, but first of all I always tried to surprise them and find ways to ‘feel’ their parts. With Paquita, we went out on the streets where she had to clean carwindows for real. This is a tough experience, because you don’t want to know what people say to you. It was a good experience, it built her character. With Jose Luis, we obviously went out driving. Since he wasn’t a very experienced driver, we hooked him up with a personal trainer: a driver that took him out driving. After a week, we started driving together. Rounds and rounds, till it became a ritual in itsself.
The nicest moment in the preparation was when Jose Luis arrived at the prep party with the car and started driving rounds around the bar. He never came out anymore. Then I knew Jose Luis had become Johan Primero.