PROJECTS
The North Sea – nature untamed – 2024
From the wild blue waters around the Scottish islands downstream to the shallow delta of the Netherlands. And up again along the dramatic coastline of the Norwegian fjords. North Sea is a cinematic adventure that takes the audience on a journey of exploration and discovery through the eyes of Peter van Rodijnen, an experienced diver and underwater cameraman. The film is a co-production with Dutch Maritime Productions
Release september 2024
Planet Soil 2023
The little things that run the world
This film makes the unseen seen. The film inspires and amazes and gives insight into the soil. Besides the world above ground populated by plants, insects and birds, but especially by people, there is a second world: an underground community of roots, larvae, worms, fungi, bacteria, amoebas and arthropods. The existence of this world will not surprise anyone, but the fact that all the life in that microcosm is busily communicating with each other is nothing short of astonishing. There are more living things in one teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on Earth. We are about to take the biggest turn in the history of our dealings with nature and our soil. We have to. Farmers have to change, consumers have to live more sensibly, industry has to change. But how do we tackle that? How do we learn to deal more sensibly with our soil? The film Onder het maaiveld shows what needs to be done on a grand scale by focusing on the world around us and the fascinating world right under our feet. Actually quite extraordinary that every day we look over the nature that forms the basis of our existence on earth.
Wild Port of Europe – 2022
Wild Port of Europe – is a dramatized documentary about the spectacular wealth, resilience and dynamism of nature in the largest and busiest transport and industrial area in Europe: the ports and industry in Port of Rotterdam and Port of Europe Moerdijk. On the cutting line between seeming opposites – industry and nature – the classic cycle of life evolves here to the ‘Re-cycle’ of life. This development is visualized from the perspective of the animals living in this area. The film is a co-production with Veldkijker Films
The Schoolgarden – 2020
you reap what you sow
Many children have no idea where the food on their plates comes from. Some may say from the grocery store or supermarket… In The Netherlands, school gardens in one form or another have been a feature of school life for over 100 years. The first ones were created at the turn of the twentieth century with the aim of tackling child poverty and in particular poor nutrition. The plan was to get children outdoors growing vegetables so as to supplement the often meager diet of the poorer families. The tradition continues to this day, and while most children no longer suffer from a lack of food, being introduced to a healthy diet remains as relevant as ever.
Like their parents and grandparents before them, primary school children begin each Spring a year round adventure armed with rubber boots, a bucket and spade. On their own two square meters of ground (just over 20 square feet) each child learns how to sow, grow and cook their own food — skills that will last them a lifetime.
Wild Amsterdam – 2018
Wild Amsterdam paints a picture of the city from a completely new perspective, that of the unnoticed inhabitants: the many wild animals and plants. Mountain ranges made of glass and concrete, industrial savannah’s, miles of sewer pipes. For a large number of wild animals, trees and plants, our streets, tunnels, waterways and brick buildings are just as suitable and attractive as a primeval forest or new wilderness. The city does not repress or replace nature, it is nature. The French black-footed gull and the vinex fox are just as wild and special as the seal and the panda.
EMS FILMS, once more under the direction of Mark Verkerk, worked on the third part in the trilogy about Dutch nature. After a classic four-season cycle of life film and an epic story about dynamic nature in our country, now there is Wild Amsterdam: a cinema film that connects exciting scripted scenes with surprising documentary images of urban nature. A city film that shows the dynamics, speed, power, beauty and humor of nature in an urban environment with surprising plot twists. A compelling story full of adventurous encounters between animals and people.
The style of the film is dynamic from the point of view of the animals, the people and the city are the ‘decor’. In the form of a mosaic film in which several stories within the city play on the basis of one or more characters (animals) that touch each other casually or directly. The main location is the Amsterdam city center with trips to the port area, IJburg, the southern-axis or a trip to the Arnhem sewer as an underground film set.
THIS IS HOLLAND – 2017
A 5D FLIGHT EXPERIENCE IN ADDITION TO THE ADAM TOWER IN AMSTERDAM
EMS FILMS has produced the film for the This is Holland attraction
THIS IS HOLLAND uses the latest technology to make you feel like you’re flying. With breathtaking film images projected on a huge spherical screen and additional special effects, you discover the Netherlands in a spectacular way! With 40 people at the same time you hang in the spherical screen, while you can let your hands and feet dangle freely. The 9-minute Flight Experience takes you on an adventure through 22 authentic locations in the Netherlands and offers you a unique perspective from the air.
Your chair moves with the film that takes you for 9 minutes on a breathtaking journey through many beautiful places of our country. With special effects like wind, fog and smells, it really seems like you are floating through the air, crossing dikes and braving storms.
From the air you fly right along the world famous Zaanse Schans, the Delta Works and special UNESCO World Heritage sites. The makers of ‘De Nieuwe Wildernis’ have collected the most unique images from the Netherlands on behalf of THIS IS HOLLAND. With a special camera, attached at the bottom of a helicopter, they showed the most special locations.
Holland, The Living Delta – 2015
Holland, The Living Delta is a (re)discovery of the Netherlands. An ode to our rivers, coastal areas and the rich nature that they bring to our delta, in all strength, riddles and beauty. After the overwhelming success of The New Wilderness, the film’s makers now come with the spectacular second part that is narrated by Bram van der Vlugt and Carice van Houten.
It is a film that will show us, like never before, the dynamism and resilience of the country in which we live. The film Holland will fascinate by the highest quality nature photography and use the most modern techniques. The story of the nature film is told from a cultural-historical context and seen from the perspective of main characters such as the bald eagle, beaver, hare, pimpernel blue and stickleback. Cameras and sound people from home and abroad, from highly experienced to up-and-coming talent, will, just like The New Wilderness, make Holland stand out through the highest quality of image.
The sea eagle settles in a high tree on the river. Here the source of life flows for everything the sea eagle knows. But he barely recognizes her because he has not been here for hundreds of years; everything is different now.
The story of the film is a rediscovery of the Netherlands. Internationally a showcase of the Dutch identity: naturalists and water managers.
“Sir David Attenborough would be jealous. Fantastic nature film, I really say this emphatically. Meticulous, absolutely stunning.”
– Matthijs van Nieuwkerk about Wild Amsterdam – De Wereld Draait Door –
The New Wilderness – 2013
In one of the world’s most densely populated countries, a nature reserve of international allure has developed: the Oostvaardersplassen. Here nature determines the rhythm. For two years, a number of film teams followed the foxes, geese, kingfishers, deer and the largest herd of wild horses in Europe. EMS FILMS has received exclusive permission to show all seasons in the Oostvaardersplassen. The result is a nature film such as never before made in the Netherlands.
The expressive konik horses throw their foals between the calves of the majestic red deer and heck cattle. An abundance of new life tries to conquer new territories with spectacular battles. It is a place that forms a paradise in spring and summer, but in the winter a grim landscape. There is less food so that the inhabitants of the grasslands and swamps have to make choices that are of vital importance. The New Wilderness is a natural spectacle for the whole family. The ‘circle of life’ or ‘cycle of life’ in the Oostvaardersplassen is beautifully portrayed. Sometimes poignant but also humorous and endearing.
The New Wilderness – Great Nature in a Small Land
