the power of film

associated press
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands Nov 2, 2004 — A Dutch filmmaker who had received death threats after releasing a movie criticizing the treatment of women under Islam was slain in Amsterdam on Tuesday, police said. A suspect, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality, was arrested after a shootout with officers that left him wounded, police said.

Filmmaker Theo van Gogh had been threatened after the August airing of the movie "Submission," which he made with a right-wing Dutch politician who had renounced the Islamic faith of her birth. Van Gogh had received police protection after its release.

The slain filmmaker was the great grandson of the brother of famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, who was also named Theo. In a recent radio interview, Van Gogh dismissed the threats and called the movie "the best protection I could have. It's not something I worry about."

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called on the Dutch people to remain calm.

"Nothing is known about the motive," he said in a written statement. "I want to call on everyone not to jump to far-reaching conclusions. The facts must first be carefully weighed so let's allow the investigators to do their jobs."
Balkenende praised Van Gogh as a proponent of free speech who had "outspoken opinions."

The government are holding late-night crisis talks about Dutch race relations after discovering a note containing lines from the Koran had been pinned to Van Gogh's dead body with a knife.
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again, i must re-iterate the power a film has, in this case it seems that the images of Submission have ended up getting the filmmaker killed. Van Gogh experienced a long career of success as a filmmaker in the Netherlands, taking in awards over the last twenty so years from 1981 (Luger), 1994 (06), 1996 (Blind Date, best director), 1997 (In het belang van de staat), 2003 (Najib en Julia), and 2004 (Cool!) at the Nederlands Film Festival. Although I am not all to familiar with his works, it seems he knew how to get noticed with his art, and most importantly, he knew how to evoke deep feelings within his audience, with the camera as his tool.



(Theo Van Gogh, in memory of a filmmaker and human: july 23 1957-november 2 2004)