De grens van Frans Bromet

The camera on his shoulder, Frans Bromet makes signature reports of the weal and woe of ordinary Dutch people. He became widely known with the long-lasting VPRO series Buren (Neighbours), in which he listened to both arguments in neighbours' quarrels. In 1993, David de Jongh was a prospective TV programme maker and a trainee with Bromet. Now, he puts his former teacher himself in front of the camera. Bromet may well take a look behind the scenes of other people's lives, but he turns out to be less enthusiastic about raking up matters from his own private life, like some painful childhood memories. De Jongh is undaunted. He not only unfolds, in occasionally comic edits, Bromet's documentary method, but also presents a more personal portrait of this self-willed filmmaker. Based on stories by friends and colleagues, and excerpts from Bromet's films (including Drielandenpunt), we learn how he developed himself from a close-lipped teenager to a born observer who manages to bring people before his camera to great candour. Ironical footnote: Bromet is at loggerheads with his neighbours.