- photo: Courtesy of the Artist
Wednesday, August 8 through Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 1:00PM, 2:45PM, 4:30PM, 6:15PM, 8:10PM and 10:10PM
Film Forum – New York, NY
Film Forum is pleased to present the US theatrical premiere of MEET THE FOKKENS, a new documentary by Dutch directors Rob Schröder and Gabriëlle Provaas, on two of the oldest practitioners of the world’s oldest profession. Louise and Martine Fokkens are 70-year-old identical twins, working residents of Amsterdam’s notorious Red Light District for the past 50 years. Today Louise is retired (citing arthritis: “I couldn’t get one leg over the other”), but Martine still works in the window. Dressed in what can only be described as the world’s most endearing dominatrix outfit, she seems to have no dearth of customers. Brash, funny, racy stories punctuate their conversations: one laughs at the naiveté of young prostitutes who are ignorant of the secrets of the trade; the other recalls a client who was a chaplain: “Don’t you remember, we even had a little confessional!” The sisters also have scary stories to tell, but in the main they recall their clients with compassion and affection. The Fokkens are a wonderfully amusing cultural mix: one part beloved grandma, one part Xaviera Hollander, times two.
Together with the film’s co-directors, the Fokkens have published a book, Ouwehoeren (Old Whores); a second book, Two Bulls in Cow Street, the story of their experience running an independent brothel, is in the works. MEET THE FOKKENS will have a 2-week engagement, August 8 – 21, at Film Forum, West Houston Street (West of 6th Avenue), with screenings daily at 1:00, 2:45, 4:30, 6:15, 8:10, and 10:10.
“Thoroughly entertaining and charming! The fact that their surname means the film has a title of sheer perfection is one thing, but these engaging, warm-hearted and eternally optimistic women make for great company… The film is gentle and oddly respectful – though there are a few scenes of Martine doing what she does with some clients. The Fokkens sisters are strong-minded and genial… [full of] verve and personality.” – Mark Adams, Screen Daily
MEET THE FOKKENS (2011, 75 mins.) Directed by Rob Schröder and Gabriëlle Provaas. Cinematography: Wiro Felix, Rob Schröder. Editor: Sander Vos. Producers: Bruno Felix, Femke Wolting. Music: Danny Malando. The Netherlands. In Dutch with English subtitles. A Kino Lorber Release.
