Dirty Window follows the trail back to the Hungarian roots of Betty Szabó, a 19-year-old prostitute who was murdered three years ago in the Amsterdam red light district.
In the night of the 18th of February 2009, 19-year-old prostitute Betty Szabó was murdered in her room in Amsterdam. The film follows the trail back to Betty’s birthplace Nyíregyháza in Hungary, where the contours of her existence slowly start to take shape, as people from her past relay their memories about her.
The focus of Dirty Window is deliberately not centered on the unsolved crime. Director Walter Stokman wanted to find out who Betty was, where she came from and what her dreams were. Amongst others, we meet Betty’s father, who has been living in dire circumstances since his separation from Betty’s mother, her former music teacher and one of her friends who also worked as a prostitute in Amsterdam, but who moved back to Nyíregyháza to be with her children.
DVD
Director
Walter Stokman
Born in 1966, he studied film at the Art Academy in Breda, the Netherlands. Since 1993 he has made several documentary films, including one about funk musician Sly Stone (let me have it all) and one about black pop stars (can’t u hear me singin’) Since 1997 he has also worked as a free lance director for the Dutch TV station VPRO.
His work became internationally recognized when he was awarded for Best Documentary at the Brooklyn International Film Festival in 2003 and when he won the Dutch ‘Golden Calf’ for his documentary film ‘ASH worldwide suicide’ (2002).
Credits
Director: Walter Stokman
Camera: Wiro Felix
Sound: Tim van Peppen
Editor: Menno Boerema & Walter Stokman