Foto-Eddy  
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Documentary synopsis  |  nederlands
Photographer Eddy de Jongh (1920-2002) gained modest fame in the 70s and 80s courtesy of his unadorned portraits of prominent public figures such as Mies Bouwman, Joop den Uyl, Johan Cruyff, Simon Wiesenthal and Dr. Spock. The renowned weekly magazine Vrij Nederland published his photographs to accompany the interviews of journalist Bibeb, while the news broadcasts of the NOS (Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation) displayed his portraits behind the newsreader.

As a young boy, director David de Jongh would often travel along with his father. When Eddy passes away in 2002, David sets out to look for the stories that his father had carefully concealed throughout his life. In his father’s archive David stumbles upon a mine of forgotten reportage photography from the 50s and 60s. He also finds out about the story of how Eddy miraculously survived World War II as the only member of his family.

Photo-Eddy shows how ‘survivor’ Eddy de Jongh managed to hold his own after his traumatic experiences, thanks also to his photography. In his photographs and life Eddy created a world full of humour, adventure and beauty. At the same time however, his biography is defined by bankruptcies, broken relationships and addictions - events that not only he, but also his five spouses and his six children suffered the consequences of.

Biography Eddy de Jongh
Photographer Eddy de Jongh, born in 1920 to a Jewish textile trader, was the only one in his family who survived World War II. After the war he inherited his father’s company, but it bankrupted in 1953. Through Magnum photographer and friend of his Kryn Taconis he got in touch with photography. After a joint trip through the South of Italy, Eddy bought a Rolleicord. He subsequently turned to the then famous photographers Ad Windig, Carel Blazer and Paul Huf for advice, but really learnt his trade in practice.

In 1955 he met journalist Tom Pauka. For years the two of them made assignments for magazines such as Vizier, Eva, Vrij Nederland and daily newspaper Het Parool. In that same period Eddy made sports photographs for the articles of Eddy van Opzeeland and Wim Koesen.

In the 60s and 70s Eddy continued to work for newspapers and magazines in cooperation with various journalists. He, for example, made assignments with Igor Cornelissen on the Prague Spring and the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. Gradually portrait photography came to replace the hectic nature of journalism fieldwork. Until the early 80s he made (black and white) portraits for Vrij Nederland that appeared alongside the interviews of distinguished journalist Bibeb among others. From the early 70s until 1990 he made colour portraits for the news broadcasts of the NOS (Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation).

His personal life was characterised by a succession of marriages as well as an abundant consumption of alcohol. From three out of five marriages he got six children in total. He died in The Hague in 2002.

Biography David de Jongh
David de Jongh (1967) made his debut in the Dutch media as a newsreader for press agency ANP in 1993. He fulfilled an internship with cameraman and filmmaker Frans Bromet. In the years that followed he made assignments and documentaries for local television stations in Amsterdam. As a radio producer he made programmes for national broadcasters IKON and VPRO among others.

His first long film, a portrait of his teacher Frans Bromet, premiered at the 2008 IDFA. A documentary on Otto Frank, father of Anne, followed in 2010 and was first shown at the Dutch Film Festival.

Click here to view the short CV of David de Jongh.
een film van David de Jongh
mediafonds   ntr   Pieter van Huystee Film & TV   idfa 2013   idfa competition 2013   nederlands fotomuseum