info

jaar 2013
producent deepeei film productions
regie Gilles Frenken

omschrijving

In 1763 a large ship called the 'Amstelveen' sailed from the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) towards Muscat, the capital of Oman and to Kharg in the Persian Gulf. The 'Amstelveen' was part of the fleet of the Dutch East-India Company (VOC). On the 5th of August it sailed near Ras Madrakah (Cape Mataraca), on the South East coast of Oman. In the evening, as the darkness was setting in and hampered by the foggy conditions, the ship came too close to the coast and ran aground. Due to the very high and powerful waves crashing on and breaking over the ship, she capsized and broke into pieces and sank. On
board were 105 men of which 75 of them drowned. The ship was never to be found.

Only 30 crewmen reached the shore alive. One of them was Cornelis Eyks. He and his companions had to walk more than 500 km through the desert of Oman, to reach the harbour of Ras Al Hadd, where they were able to find transport to Muscat.The shipwreck and their exhausting trek through the desert by the survivors, was recorded in a logbook by Cornelis Eyks and described in his diary.

In this film we will relive his story by stepping in the footsteps of the castaways through the dessert. The famous Dutch writer Abdelkader Benali will go back to Oman to guide the viewer through this epic story. He will meet scholars and scientist and will go on a search for the shipwreck of the 'Amstelveen'.
Reading Eyks diary, and his accounts of the VOC and its trade links with Oman, brings back the longstanding maritime traditions of both the Dutch and the Omanis. It provides fascinating footage for this documentary about life in Oman in the 18th century and the interaction between these seafaring nations. An epic story by following the ultimate survival in a strange country.

crew

	Milan Collin	camera
	Gilles Frenken	camera
	Eva Sprenkelder	production assistent
	Milan Collin	producer
	Gilles Frenken	film producer
	Gilles Frenken	directing
	Gilles Frenken	camjo
	Gilles Frenken	screenwriting

Tags

Documentary