Original Film Title: Azart. Come Make Art
Director’s Name: Annike Kaljouw
Writer’s Name: Maria Novikova
Producer: Maria Novikova
Country of Origin: Netherlands
Country of Filming: Aruba, Colombia, Ecuador, Netherlands, Spain
Language: Dutch, English, Russian, Spanish
Runtime: 1 hour 23 minutes
Film Description:
Welcome to Azart: the Ship of Fools. A unique ship that symbolizes the realization of dreams.
Based on a painting of Hieronymus Bosch, Captain August turned an old fisherman’s ship into a sailing theatre. During more than 30 years he travelled around the world to bring theatre, joy and folly. Until 2020, the ship has visited hundreds of cities, to brighten them up with its theatrical performances. Together with his crew – consisting of actors and musicians, in varying composition – August showed how to live an adventurous life by following your heart, create dreams and make them come true.
In the film we follow August in his mission to give the ship a final destination. He visits old friends and family in the Netherlands and looks back on his travels. Because August always had filmmakers on board, we have a rich archive of film images at our disposal. This creates a colorful overview of the wonderful history of the theater ship.
‘The ship of fools’ was actually on its way to Australia, to put the ship on wheels and drive though the desert to bring theatre. But unfortunately this dream was abruptly coming to an end, when serious illness forced him to go back to Holland to get treatments. He had to leave the ship behind in Ecuador. His last wish was to get the ship on the beach. This seemed like an impossible dream. But in the spirit of Azart, he completed this mission too.
The end scene looks like a surreal ‘grand final show’: the Amsterdam theatre ship Azart is making its very last voyage after thirty-three years of sailing. On wheels, pulled by bulldozers. The ship now stands perky on a beach in Ecuador and is fully embraced by a local theater group.
The name Azart has several meanings: passion; taking risks; take the gamble, fearlessly pursue your goal, opportunities.
Captain August: “The name is the omen.. of the many near-collisions, and other perils about permits, lack of money, etc. But also the omen of a life journey in permanent amazement that it just kept going! Nothing is impossible.” Everyone in the world who knows Azart shares this amazement: it is a source of inspiration until the very end.
Watch the wonderful history about living your dreams, and dealing with obstacles on the way.
Please enter the world of captain August and his Ship of Fools!