Born in Tilburg in 1959, after his family had moved from Bandung, Indonesia to the Netherlands. He graduated from the Dutch Film and Television Academy in 1986 in feature film directing, screenwriting and editing. His debut feature was The Phoenix Mystery (1990). His first documentary Moving Objects (1991) won several awards at international festivals. He garnered top accolades for international documentaries at the Sundance Festival and was a two-time winner at IDFA.
Position Among the Stars
Position Among the Stars
Position Among the Stars
Synopsis
Over twelve years, Leonard Retel Helmrich chronicles an Indonesian family in Jakarta's slums, revealing societal issues like corruption, religious conflicts, and economic disparity. His revolutionary camera work in this film continues the themes of his previous documentaries, and while connected, each film stands strong on its own, requiring no prior viewing to enjoy.
'I shot Position Among the Stars with the same method as the previous two documentaries, 'Single Shot Cinema,' which I developed myself. Since I follow my main characters very closely, I'm centre stage at every event, so I can shoot the situation from inside out. I have opted for this method since I realise that as an observer, I am part of the event that I am observing. As a human being I don't experience reality as a series of shots, but as one continuing event, so I shoot the situation from that perception.' - Leonard Retel HELMRICH
Festivals & Awards
2010 Best Feature-Length Documentary, IDFA
2011 Sundance FF
Director's Profile
Leonard Retel HELMRICH
Filmography
1985 Schoonheid van gevaar
1986 The Drowning Man
1988 Dag mijn klas, ik mis jullie allemaal
1990 The Phoenix Mystery
1991 Moving Objects
1994 Jemand auf der Treppe
1995 Art Non-Blok
1996 Closed Circuit
1999 Als een vloedlijn
2000 The body of Indonesia's conscience
2001 The Eye of the Day
2003 Flight from Heaven
2004 Shape of the Moon
2006 Aladi
2006 Promised Paradise
2010 Position Among the Stars
2013 Raw Herring
2017 The Long Season
Credit
Producer｜Hetty Naaijkens–Retel HELMRICH
Cinematographer｜Ismail Fahmi LUBISH, Leonard Retel HELMRICH
Editor｜Jasper NAAIJKENS
Music｜Danang FATURAHMAN, Fahm Al-ATTAS
Sound｜Ranko PAUKOVIĆ
Print Source
Scarabeefilms｜https://scarabeefilms.com/contact/