In top-class sport, everything revolves around the winners. Their successes and eruptions of joy are extensively followed and exposed by the media. We hardly ever see or read anything about the backgrounds to their accomplishments or about the failure of those who have (just) not made it. People tend to forget that top-class sport also involves issues such as grief, fear of failure and personal development. In de mentale kwestie, debut filmmaker Lies Niezen follows a number of Dutch top sportsmen during their physical and, more particularly psychological, preparations for the recent Olympic Games. On the basis of interviews with famous sports psychologist Peter Blitz and haptonomist Ted Troost, she finds out that the importance of mental coaching is not yet fully acknowledged in Dutch sport. The motto ‘blank your mind and go for the prize’ does not bring the desired result for all top-class sportsmen. Apparently, there is more between success and failure than we can register with the naked eye or a stopwatch.
Director
Lies Niezen
Lies Niezen ontwikkelde het script voor Sport -de mentale kwestie in de IDFA scenarioworkshop in 1999.
Credits
In co-production with NTR. With the support from Dutch Cultural media Fund. Winner IDFA-scriptworkshop 1999. Première IDFA 2000.
Script, Lies Niezen; Director of Photography, Peter Brugman; Sound, Gertjan Miedema; Editor, Elja de Lange; Production, Willemijn Cerutti.