Ellen ten Damme

'As I was wondering where this mixed-up little life of mine was leading to', the subtitle of the film reads. Other people might have put everything aside on learning they had cancer. Not so actress and singer Ellen ten Damme. When consulting the doctor about the start of her chemotherapy, she says she had rather postpone it a week, even if the starting day would then fall after the 'required' period. This way, she can still do all planned gigs. From 2005, the year she was diagnosed with breast cancer, director Rob Hodselman follows Ten Damme for 18 months during her busy schedule (studio recordings for her third album, the travelling theatrical fair De Parade, shows in Germany with Udo Lindenberg) and her hospital treatment. The disease made her realise she is doing exactly what she wants. People watching her on stage will not doubt that for a second. Perhaps this is why she always remains so strong and optimistic. Only the cold feeling she gets during chemotherapy agitates her. 'I don't like it anymore.'