DOCUMENTARY : THE EUROPEAN

A Documentary-Debate

Special screening with Q&A in the presence of director Dirk Jan Roeleven

November 2014 Frans Timmermans, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, was appointed by President Jean Claude Juncker to become his First Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of better regulation and fundamental rights. But very soon he was also having to deal with the refugee crisis, the Turkey-deal and the dreaded Brexit.

Filmmaker Dirk Jan Roeleven follows Timmermans for nearly two years. The film moves at the swift pace of Timmermans’s life - we shift effortlessly from an interview with CNN, a visit to a refugee camp in Greece, a meeting with Ban Ki-moon and a deadline for Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad. As he is filmed in taxis, planes and cheerless hotel rooms, he talks openly about his assertiveness and the qualities of a good diplomat. Rarely does a camera get so close to the heart of Europe. The result is a personal, at times funny and moving film, in a politically extremely hectic time.

Host or Publisher Collège néerlandais, Cité internationale universitaire de Paris