Piet is gone tells the story of Piet Beentjes, who went missing on the isle of Texel in 1987. For 30 years, Toos Beentjes has desperately tried to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of her homosexual brother. In vain. The police saw no reason to investigate the case: ‘Eventually, he’ll wash up. And if not, the tourists will find him.’
The film is not a quest for Piet Beentjes, but tells the story of what happened before and after the disappearance. About the Kafkaesque world Toos entered after her brother disappeared. A world of routine, lackadaisical interest and a lame police investigation.
Director
Jaap van Hoewijk
Jaap van Hoewijk (Rotterdam 1963) has been making documentaries since 1995. His debut film was Procedure 769, about the witnesses of the first execution of 25 years in California. In 2001 he made Family Secret , Jaap finds out his father didn’t die in an accident, but commited suicide. In 2012 he made Kill Your Darling a feature documentary about the police investigation into the murder of photo model Melissa Halstead, whose headless and handless body was found in a canal in Rotterdam in 1990. Zijn film, Killing Time, was selected for many festivals, among which IDFA and DOKLeipzig. In 2015 he made the 2part documentary The Trials a collection of touching, comical and sometimes painful confrontations between citizens and the judge.
Credits
Written and directed by Jaap van Hoewijk
Photography Jean Counet
Sound Benny Jansen
Editor Chris van Oers
Sound design & mix Hugo Dijkstal
Executive producer Judith Vreriks
Producer KRO-NCRV Yolande van der Blij
Commissioning editor KRO-NCRV Jelle Peter de Ruiter
Produced by Frank van den Engel | Zeppers Film BV
Festivals IDFA Selected for the Dutch Competition 2017
A Zeppers Film production in cooperation with KRO-NCRV
Made with the support of the Dutch Cultural Media Fund