WEEPING BRIDES - Tom Tieman

Year: 2024

Length: 24:50 minutes

Logline:
Many large manor houses in East Groningen, built in the heyday of the Grain Republic (1870-1920), are in decline. The residents are faced with a choice: stay or leave?

Synopsis:
In the vast plains of East Groningen there are old, large barns. One even more beautiful and bigger than the other. They owe their rich appearance to the unprecedented prosperity of the gentlemen farmers who lived there at the time of the Grain Republic at the end of the 19th century, the glory days of the region. Now many of these monumental farms are languishing. They are too big and the owners of the farms cannot bear the maintenance. The region is a deprived area and suffers from earthquakes and subsidence. ‘Weeping Brides’ are also the name given to the old peasant cathedrals of yesteryear.
In ‘Crying Brides’, two barns reflect on their own decay. The inhabitants try with all their might to keep the farms alive but cannot compete with greater forces. What should they do to stop the decline? Is salvation still possible? And how do the farms themselves view their impending demise?
In Drieborg, Boelo ten Have and his wife Annemarie are trying to save their farm, which is a national monument. His family has lived and worked there for six generations. Out of desperation, they painted the farm pink. They are trying to get subsidies to reverse the decline. But will it work? Will that help come in time? How does the ‘pink farm’ itself feel about its decline?
A little further on is Joke’s farm, which is in even worse condition. Here, the weather has left large holes in roofs and walls due to overdue maintenance. Joke is visually impaired and has little money to repair the damage. But the farm is also its own paradise. Can she still live there? And how does the farm itself look at its occupant who cannot sustain it?

Credits:
with: Joke Helms, Boelo ten Have, Annemarie Nijhoff
voices: Nanette Edens, Aukje Schaafsma
screenplay & direction: Tom Tieman
camera: Lukas de Kort
additional camera: Jefta Varwijk, Tom Tieman
sound: Menno Knevel
assistant to the producer: Jasja Arian
editing: Nina Graafland
sound design: Wart Wamsteker
re-recording mix: Wart Wamsteker & Peter Flamman
composer: Kinetophone (René Duursma, Thomas van den Berg, Sebastiaan Wiering)
post production image: Loods Lux & Lumen
grading: Daphne Meierna

thanks to Martijn Blekendaal, Lotte Dunselman, Rob Hendriks, Douwe Offringa, Wil Panman , Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed, Ilja Tigchelaar, Anika van de Wijngaard

final editor Documentary KRO-NCRV: Michiel Brongers
editor Documentary KRO-NCRV: Yolande van der Blij
production KRO-NCRV: Leonie van Zanten
Nederlands Filmfonds: Simone van den Broek, Michiel van Opstal, Thomas van Tuijl, Jolijn van Rees
CoBO: Jeanine Hage, Peter van Beek, Alexander Djeranian, Mireille van der Laan, Kim van Berkel

producer: Digna Sinke

deze film is tot stand gekomen in het kader van Teledoc Campus
met steun van KRO-NCRV Nederlands Filmfonds, NPO, NPO-fonds, CoBO