What would you do if you had to flee? That was the big question that the young Pieter Timmerman asked himself during WW2. A question that we took as a starting point for the development of a short animated film.
In this free film, inspired by Pieter’s war story, we see a boy busy working on a construction plan for a folding kayak. While he is secretly working on his escape mission, a group of soldiers is on their way to his home, on a completely different mission. They want to arrest him.
The story of the film is based on parts of Pieter Timmerman’s war story and is intended to inspire, arouse curiosity and point the way to a broader educational package about the importance of freedom and our democracy.
Pieter was never arrested at home as the boy in the film appears and the reason is deliberately unclear. It may be that this boy had to work for the occupier, that he is in the resistance or that he had other ideas.
With this story, the National Hiding Museum wants to make a link to this time. Pieter fled from Nazi practices at the time of WW2, unfortunately today we still see far too many reasons to want to flee from something. We hope that the film will inspire young and old to think about this.
The film has been integrated into the museum’s permanent collection for illustration and inspiration and can be seen next to the original kayak frame that Pieter Timmerman built.
In addition, the film Kayak is available for public screenings and broadcast.
Kayak was made in the context of 75 Years of Freedom / Gelderland Commemorates
Factsheet
Title: Kayak
Director & animation: Udo Prinsen
3D animation: Stefan Kwint
Music: Eddy Koopman
Marimba & percussion: Esther Doornink
Mastering: Arend Liefkes
