{"id":158920,"date":"2023-09-21T13:28:25","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T11:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=158920"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:58","slug":"charlies-documentary-on-lgbti-elderly-people-screened-at-dutch-film-festival-of-course-these-people-exist-we-just-never-see-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/09\/21\/charlies-documentary-on-lgbti-elderly-people-screened-at-dutch-film-festival-of-course-these-people-exist-we-just-never-see-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlie’s documentary on lgbtq+ elderly people screened at Dutch Film Festival: ‘Of course these people exist, we just never see them’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlotte “Charlie” Schenk made a documentary about lgbtq+ elderly people. Over Roze Gesproken<\/em> (Talking about Pink) tells the stories of non-binary lesbian activist Nell, trans man Jos, and gay man Arie and his wife Tonny.\u00a0 On Monday, the documentary will be shown at the Dutch Film Festival.<\/p>\n

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Charlie is the director of <em> Over Roze Gesproken.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

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Charlie\u2019s debut documentary Over Roze Gesproken is about \u2018pink elderly\u2019, lgbti+ people over 60. One of the main characters in the documentary is Nell, a lesbian activist who was already active in the women\u2019s movement in the 1970s. Together with her friends, Nell welcomed the filmmakers sincerely, says the Arts and Culture Studies student. \u201cThose women found it wonderful. Nell went around with all kinds of snacks and while chain-smoking she started singing an anthem. At that moment, I thought, \u2018Yes, I would really like to know more about you.’\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Charlie found three more main characters for the documentary: trans man Jos, Arie (who falls for men) and his wife Tonny. But there was much more enthusiasm among the pink elderly: \u201cYou could make 10 films like this with the same format, but with different stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representation<\/h2>

That enthusiasm, according to Charlie, is because lgbti+ people, especially the elderly, are very little represented in films. \u201cI think, just like me, they feel there is very little recognition. When I watch films or series, or read books, I don\u2019t really see myself as a non-binary queer person\u201d, they say. Charlie themselves only had that recognition two years ago, when seeing a non-binary person in the film Anne+.\u00a0 \u201cThe main characters have that too, maybe even worse than me. There was no internet in their time, of course, so they had to look for everything themselves and put a lot of effort into finding people who looked like them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Yes, of course these people exist, we just never see them\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The idea for the film came from two former students of the Willem de Kooning Academy, where Charlie studies Audiovisual Design. Richard van \u2018t Hof and Jorick Buurstra later collaborated as editor and director of photography. During research for another documentary, they ended up at Het Roze Caf\u00e9, a meeting place for Rotterdam\u2019s pink elderly. \u201cThere was a whole group of pink elderly people there that they thought, \u2018Yes, of course these people exist, we just never see them\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Film festival<\/h2>
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'When I watch films or series, or read books, I don\u2019t really see myself as a non-binary queer person.'<\/span><\/p>

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The filmmakers felt that the lack of representation of pink elderly people needed to be addressed. Soon, a plan emerged and Charlie was asked as director. The team wrote a film plan and sent it to several film funds. \u201cThen we got the money and suddenly it was, \u2018Wow, now we can actually make it’\u201d, says Charlie.<\/p>\n

The film is not a standard talking-heads documentary, where the main characters sit on a chair and tell their stories with a camera in their face: \u201cThat\u2019s not interesting to watch, nor does it do justice to the stories.\u201d Instead, Charlie and their team set up a pink studio, where the four main characters shared their stories together. In addition, the main characters were filmed in locations that illustrate the story: the pub where Nell meets with her activist friends, Tonny\u2019s choir and the support group for young trans people that Jos mentors.<\/p>\n

For Charlie, a scene at the end of the documentary captures the value of the film well. \u201cSomeone from the support group mentored by Jos says it gave her a lot of hope for the future to see an old transgender man. She saw: \u2018There is a future for me\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Over Roze Gesproken will be screened at the Nederlands Film Festival, one of the Netherlands\u2019 premier festivals. A big thing for a student\u2019s debut documentary. Yet Charlie remains cool about what comes next: \u201cI\u2019d love to tackle other projects, but I\u2019m just going to graduate first, otherwise it\u2019ll never happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Screenings:<\/p>\n