Boris was a master. Masters live forever.

Boudewijn Koole, Producer & Director

DEAR

To: Family, Friends, Colleagues and Fans
Subject: An Unordinary Funeral, Boris Gerrets
From: Alexandra Sophia Handal
Date: Thursday 9th of April 2020

Invisible filaments tie me to you
branching out feverishly through the dust, the fog, the fire.
Indestructible tissue of existence never ending.
Into the depth of my body.
Into the vastness of space.
A web of delicate strings that tie everything to everything.
BORIS GERRETS, Lamentations of Judas (2020)

On Thursday the 9th of April 2020, Boris Gerrets' earthly body will be cremated at 10:00 Berlin time.

As a result of the worldwide pandemic affecting all of us, new rituals to express our collective grief are necessary, since social gatherings, including funerary ones are prohibited.

This moment requires our creativity, so I propose we connect spiritually through our diverse expressions, be it by:

reading a poem
lighting a candle
offering him breakfast
saying a prayer
preparing him a morning espresso, no sugar
meditating
picking some flowers from your garden
writing him a letter
singing a song
dedicating a drawing
dancing

This labour of love was made LIVE on the day of my beloved's cremation.

With gratitude and love,
Alexandra

TRIBUTES

Brother, Best Friend, Master Artist

By Klaartje Quirijns

7th of April 2020, London

Boris Gerrets is dead: my brother, my best friend, my mentor.

I need to write this to make sure I understand you passed away. I feel you are still here, I hear your voice, I hear your questions, I hear our conversations. I hear what was on your mind: your dream to be with Alex and Basil in your new apartment in Marseille. You told me there was an excellent school for Basil.

Samuel Beckett, when asked if one beautiful spring morning made him glad to be alive, responded, “I wouldn’t go as far as that. Life is a predicament, death the elephant at the horizon that looms larger as the years pass.”

If I think of you Boris, I think of life. And work. You sent me your idea for your new film. And your memoir. There was no time to lose. Death looming in the background made you even more curious, more determined, wiser. It seemed like you knew something and you needed time, you needed life so badly.

Your life was a journey. Trying out what was working and what wasn’t for you. Like a scientist you would eliminate the elements that weren’t part of you or your work. And then you told me that life finally culminated in who you are, finally arriving at a place where you knew what you wanted, with love as the most important force. And that was Alex.

Our film, Your Mum and Dad was as much my psychoanalyses as it was yours. Our stories are in the subconscious of the film. I could visualise your upbringing. Always surrounded by women: your grandmother, mother and aunt. I was very happy to be in your female entourage, together with Alex and your daughters. We understood each other so well, like a brother and sister. When we discovered your father could have met mine somewhere in a nightclub on the Leidseplein, we weren’t surprised. And then there was the fact that we would always miss flights, or we would arrive unexpectedly at the same airport. Nothing was strange because we knew we came from the same place, wherever that is…

We are family. When I was so lucky to rest in your arms, just before the world would close down, me comforting you and you comforting me, I flew back from Berlin to London and a deep warm feeling came over me: I have this beautiful experience and this friendship is part of me. I know you will be with me. And I still love hearing your voice, your incredible original mind.

Boris, you are a great soul; you absorbed the human soul, looking into the contradictions and complexities. You dissolved all boundaries of art, and crossed their borders with a fearless freedom. And right in the heart of this you showed us what it means to be human. What you gave back was art in every form. And kindness, decency, taste and humour. That is a master artist.

Boris, I will miss you so very much….

A FREE SPIRIT AND AN OPEN EYE FOR PEOPLE FOR WHOM NO ONE HAS AN EYE: THAT CHARACTERIZES THE ARTIST AND FILMMAKER, WHO DIED ON MARCH 26.... de Volkskrant

Dearest Boris, Dearest Friend

7th of April 2020

Somebody who made me think, and tie things together...
on an earthly way, on a spiritual way, on a philosophical way...

Margje De Kooning, Artistic Director, Movies that Matter Festival, The Hague

Boris for me is a vital artist of our times. Over the years he has redefined the notion of the artist. I saw in him a new energy and a new wit expressed in an extraordinary diversity of things and ideas: sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, theatre, video, performance – all his work in some way was an exploration of the fictional and the real and the ambivalent relationship between them.
Guy Brett, Art Writer

Boris Gerrets, Pomfret, South Africa

An unforgettable man and a dear friend

By: Eric Velthuis

8th of April 2020, Amsterdam

Knowing Boris was first of all, knowing a genuinely sovereign person. He was an artist without doubts. Of course he had a critical attitude against some of his ideas, that’s just an important quality of artists. But he never doubted his existence as an artist. He was an artist, in so many ways, and took all the responsibility for it. I never heard him complaining about other people. If something didn’t work out as expected, the first thing he would think of was his own involvement.

It was the last day of our first trip to Johannesburg. I had a flight a day earlier. Boris decided to have a walk through downtown Johannesburg on the way to the National Museum of Modern Art and he got robbed severely, including losing his consciousness. And he survived. Even then he blamed it totally on himself. Not a bad word about the robbers.

Because of his eating problems he had to be extremely careful with swallowing. It took him hours to chew on the food and meanwhile he was not able to speak. So he and I spent a lot of time sitting at tables in restaurants in Johannesburg without saying anything. In the beginning, Boris apologized for this many times. Even then he blamed this on himself. But eventually these hours were a sort of moment of contemplation in the middle of the extremely hectic Fox Street in Johannesburg. These are the moments I cherish the most.

Closely before the finishing of Lamentations of Judas, Boris sent me a new idea for a new film. A fantastic plan. He worked on it while he was in the hospital, going through a new torture, through another chemotherapy. In between moments of deep sickness he wrote on this plan. It should have become his requiem. It was heroic. Here was a man fighting for his life while working, feverishly, on his last film. Though the funds were ready to come up with the necessary budgets, it appeared too late. Lamentations of Judas became his final film. I think it’s a very deserving final film in a remarkable career.

An unforgettable man and a dear friend.

I just realized that Boris is cremated on the biblical day of The Last Supper. Nothing without a meaning.

BORIS WAS A VERSATILE FILMMAKER, AN ARTIST AND A CITIZEN OF THE WORLD WITH AN IDIOSYNCRATIC BODY OF WORK. AS AN EDITOR AND COACH, HE MEANT A LOT TO MANY OTHER FILMMAKERS. WITH HIS DEATH, THE FILM WORLD LOSES A BELOVED COLLEAGUE AND SPECIAL PERSON.

Nederlands Film Festival International
Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Eye Filmmuseum
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds
Nederlands Filmfonds

For Boris, Morning time

By: Pary El-Qalqili

8th of April 2020, Berlin

Dear Alexandra:
I told Ibrahim and Bisan about Boris’ funeral tomorrow and we decided to do a little morning picnic in the backyard for him. We have birds, squirrels and rabbits here and even a fox is living behind our house. May Boris be surrounded by all these beautiful creatures, their voices, sounds and the warmth of their hearts. We will sing a Spring song for him. I am sure he will hear us.

Sending you love,
Pary

Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär' (If I’d be a Bird)

I met Boris at a party at Visions du Réel Festival in Spring 2012. He was part of the Jury who had just awarded my first feature film. The music was playing loud and we could not really talk, so he promised to send me his film PEOPLE I COULD HAVE BEEN AND MAYBE AM.

His package contained: A copy of his film, a box of exquisite chocolates and a handwritten letter. ‘How sincere and beautiful,’ I thought, holding it in my hands.

What would it be like, to enter into the life of a complete stranger?
The first lines of his film captivated me.

Most stories will never be told, because no one was there to witness.
So, Boris’ camera eye goes out to witness and his soul floats to connect. Connect to Steve, Sandrine and Precious. Living on the street, striving for love and life in dignity.

There is one life we imagine living and another one we really live.
It was that very spirit, full of desire, longing and imagination that connected him to the people in his film.

She allowed me to watch her. So I watched her...
The gaze of his camera speaks of his hope to understand the pain, survival and beauty of the other and himself.

Steve always keeps the letter of his daughter in the left inside pocket of his jacket, neatly folded, in its original envelope.
Instead of explaining, he reads, feels and comforts the person in front of his camera.

My role was becoming increasingly dubious.
How much I love the reflection of his role as a filmmaker in relation to the people in his film, but also his form of story-telling itself.

Toward the end, we hear Precious, aka Sister Netifa, reciting these words, shortly before she dies: ‘I am a poem, read me and fill your soul.’

You are a poet, dear Boris,
thank you for sharing the wisdom of this film with me.

Boris Gerrets Skype interview for Shado'man, Berlin-Athens, 19 August 2017

Recorded Skype interview for an essay on Shado'man, Berlin-Athens, 19.08.2017

BORIS GERRETS LOVED PEOPLE AND PEOPLE LOVED HIM BACK.

Boris Gerrets loved people and people loved him back. His cremation today feels an apt time to reflect again on how (his) images make visible the ineffable, how he was able to touch others precisely through distance. How distance can be warmth to those attuned to the subtleties of communication. Inter-subjective ethics, equitable relationships between a filmmaker and those who agree to be filmed were hugely important to Boris and it shows in his films. I wish his wife and children all the strength available in this difficult time. Lamentations of Judas will be released this year. It’s beautiful in the most difficult ways.

Minou Norouzi, filmmaker, writer & curator

Un Petit-déjeuner de Fruits Ensoleillés

Par: Manon Lavaud

Très chère Alexandra,

Merci pour ces messages remplis de vie.

Ces nouvelles m’ont laissée très triste mais aussi et surtout profondément heureuse d’avoir eu la chance de partager un peu de ces derniers mois et ce film (Lamentation de Judas) avec Boris et toi. Votre rencontre fait partie de celles qui m’ont profondément marquée. La gentillesse de Boris, sa malice, sa délicatesse, son courage et son énergie m'ont encouragée à aborder la vie avec plus encore de confiance et de curiosité. Tu peux imaginer mon sourire lorsque j’ai lu que son dernier endroit serait Marseille! Cette ville me semble être à votre image à tous les deux: pleinement vivante, faite de mille couleurs et d’histoires, radieuse, complexe et ouverte sur un monde si grand!

Je peine à imaginer la douleur que tu traverses désormais. Je tiens alors à t’envoyer toute la douceur, la joie, l'affection et le courage possibles! Je pense très fort à toi et à Basile. A très vite j’espère, pour parler de tout, de rien, d’Haïti, de Boris, du cinéma, des fleurs, du café et de Marseille. De mon côté, je vais m’atteler demain à un petit-déjeuner de fruits ensoleillés en pensant à lui et à vous.

Je t’embrasse très fort,
Manon

Boris was one of the most fantastic filmmakers I have ever worked with.
Living out in the bush with him, in Pomfret, being around his concentration and passion and meticulous work, was an experience I’ll always carry with me.
Nic Hofmeyr, Cinematographer

At the Hiroishi family home, Tokyo, Japan

By: Tomoyo Hiroishi

Dear Alex,

I thought about the day I went to the cremation of my grandmother. As the smoke came out of the chimney to the sky, we realized part of her ashes will forever remain in Mexico. She became part of the wind, the fruitful clear air, thus, her soul giving more life to flowers and plants. So Boris too, will belong in Berlin, then in Marseille, then in nature. Always with you.With us.

The piano I am playing is the one my mother had since childhood, 50 years ago. It is antique and out of tune but I know Boris would appreciate it, regardless.

My mother picked a rose from her garden and did an Ikebana, which is a Japanese flower arrangement. She placed it near the espresso Ushio made for Boris. It was served in a coffee cup made by a Mexican ceramic artist.

My family and I send you immense love from Tokyo,
Tomoyo

MET ZIJN FILMS GAF HIJ KWETSBARE MENSEN EEN STEM EN LEGDE MAATSCHAPPELIJKE, HUMANITAIRE THEMA’S BLOOT. ALTIJD MET RESPECT VOOR ZIJN PROTAGONISTEN.

HIS FILMS GAVE VULNERABLE PEOPLE A VOICE AND EXPOSED SOCIAL, HUMANITARIAN THEMES. ALWAYS WITH RESPECT FOR ITS PROTAGONISTS.

Dutch Academy for Film

Querido Boris,

By: Miguel Angel Melgares

No sé si acordarás del día que nos conocimos. Seguramente si. Fue en Amsterdam, durante las entrevistas de admisión para acceder a DasArts en 2008. La situación era la siguiente: yo estaba aterrorizado porque mi inglés daba mucha pena, y tú estabas en una de las dos comisiones que me entrevistaban, y cuando entendí que hablabas español ¡vi el cielo abierto! Me acuerdo que estaba intentando explicar una performance que estaba preparando por aquellas fechas para la Noche en Blanco de Córdoba, La Reina de las Fiestas rompió la Piñata, y era incapaz de encontrar la palabra “donkey” en mi pobre vocabulario, de modo que puse a rebuznar, y me ayudaste a darle un poco de coherencia a aquel despropósito. Reímos y me hiciste sentir cómodo. Al aceptarme en el programa me brindasteis una oportunidad que me cambió la vida; y aquel extraño políglota que me enseñó como decir “burro” en inglés hizo una impronta que me acompañará durante muchos años.

Cuando me explicaron que durante mi IT podría contar con una persona para desarrollar mi investigación, no dudé por un momento que tu eras la persona que me interesaba seguir conociendo –y claro, con la que podría seguir hablando en español– y te convertiste en mi tutor, confidente y amigo. Durante los años que hemos compartido juntos, nunca llegué a entender de donde salía tu generosidad y curiosidad innata. No entendía porqué una persona tan interesante, genuina e inteligente como tú, mostraba tal cordialidad y entusiasmo en cada uno de los encuentros que tuvimos, ofreciéndome tu ayuda desinteresada en múltiples ocasiones, y enriqueciendo con tus consejos y sabiduría cada una de las locuras que te propuse. Una de mis aventuras favoritas fue cuando te pedí establecer una conversación via email con Karin Spaink, para ayudarme a reflexionar sobre las implicaciones políticas, sociales e históricas que significa vivir en los Países Bajos. El proyecto Portrait of a wet country fue la manera que encontré para poder analizar el país al que me vine a vivir casi por casualidad. Necesitaba la ayuda de personas cuya visión admiraba y respetaba para poder lograr entender una sociedad no siempre accesible. El texto que generasteis fue el hilo conductor de una fiesta de cumpleaños histriónica. En mi España natal, las fiestas de cumpleaños son cosa de la infancia, y de algún modo pierden importancia con el paso de los años. En Holanda sin embargo la celebración continúa hasta la edad adulta, acarreando las consecuencias del peso de la obligación social. Vuestra conversación fue titánica, y yo disfruté como juez de línea de un partido dialéctico y discursivo sobre los complejos, orgullos y vergüenzas de lo que significa ser holandés. ¿Te acuerdas? Esta es mi carta favorita.

Amigo, doy por hecho que allá donde estés habrás sabido rodearte de personas formidables. Aquí te echaremos en falta, es cierto. Pero has dejando tanto y tan bueno tras de ti que tendremos Boris para rato. Brindaremos por ti.

Miguel

A Song for Boris (and you, Alexandra)

By: Saeed Taji Farouky

Dear Alexandra:

I'd love to share a song with you. Something I also started singing to help deal with sadness. I love you immensely, and will always love Boris, his talent, and his films.

As we say: البقية في حياتك. Saeed

ONLY LOVE

By: Pieter van Huystee

11 Maart 2020

Oh lieve Boris,
liefs liefs liefs alleen maar liefs.
Het is me zo’n groot plezier dat
ik met je kon werken.
Je hebt me zoveel gegeven en
geleerd.
Laatst heb ik nog je documentaire
Tuinverhalen ter inspiratie bekeken.
Je bent n held voor mij.
Mooie films met elkaar, maar vooral
zoveel mooie tijden en gesprekken
met elkaar.
Het ga je goed, we komen elkaar
nog tegen in dat volgende universum.

Dikke kus,
Pieter

Oh dear Boris,
love love love is
what I am sending you.
Only love.
It has been such a pleasure to work
with you.
You gave and taught me so much.
Recently, I watched your
documentary, Garden Stories
for inspiration.
You're a hero to me.
Beautiful films with each other, but
especially so many beautiful times
and conversations with each other.
You take care now, we will meet
each other in the next universe.

Big Kiss,
Pieter

WITH LOSING BORIS WE’VE LOST A MUCH RESPECTED COLLEAGUE AND THE INTERNATIONAL FILM INDUSTRY HAS LOST ONE OF ITS GREAT TALENTS. I WILL MISS HIM DEARLY AS THE GOOD FRIEND HE HAS BECOME…
Ruben van der Hammen, In Memoriam, NCE (Netherlands Association of Cinema Editors)

Tribute to my mentor and friend, and a dedication to my son, Boris, his namesake

Homecalling of a Heart

by Ernest Mannah

Dear Alex:

I can’t believe the home calling of a heart like Boris.

Hearing about the passing away of Boris has been traumatic for me. Until now, I can’t believe that Boris is gone. I have not been myself since hearing that message and I cry every day for not having been able to say goodbye to a wonderful, caring, kind-hearted and down-to-earth human, that he was.

I am kindly asking your permission to allow me and my family to have some moment of prayers, reflection and thoughts of my great hero and friend, your husband, as his earthly remain is being cremated. I will sing him a local song he likes from Sierra Leone, titled, 'King Jimmy Bonga Sweet’ and pray for eternal rest.

Boris loved saying to people: ‘kushe n tenki buku’, meaning in Krio, ‘greetings and thanks a lot’. He used it at every encounter. Local people liked him so much.

My heart and prayers are with you in this difficult moment. Remember that you will not be the only one that will miss Boris, but a lot more people in Sierra Leone and the world at large. Even my nine years old son, Boris, who I named after him, asked me to put Boris Gerrets’ picture in his bedroom.

I pray for God’s grace and his special strength in your life as you continue to mourn and celebrate Boris, your husband, your child’s father.

I still need to come to terms, that my friend is gone. For me, it is like he is travelling to another country to make another breathtaking film and I am hoping to receive a message from him.

Ernest

Stichting Ateliers Utrechtsedwarsstraat
Utrechtsedwarsstraat 28/30
1017 WG Amsterdam
Amsterdam, April 6th 2020

Dear Alexandra,

At the start of 1956 Marcel Duchamp appeared in a program on NBC television. Three weeks earlier he had become an American citizen. For Duchamp there were two kind of artists, he explained in this interview. There is the one who deals with society, is integrated with society; and on the other hand there is the completely freelance artist, who has nothing to do with it – no bonds whatsoever. Duchamp is not really known to be a man of tradition, and during his lifetime he always followed his own path.

In that respect, in taking care of his independence from the rest of society, he reminds us in a way of Boris. In his work Boris shows great empathy for those who are so often being ignored, or confronted with signs of social indifference. It is important that they should be heard, because in our compassion we not only show who they are - but we express who we really are. What a relief that Boris succeeded to finish his last film, Lamentations of Judas, the intended openingsfilm of the Movies That Matter festival in the Hague.

For many years Boris worked in our building in the centre of Amsterdam. Thinking of new projects, doing research and completing films and documentaries. He was part of a small community of artists, with completely different backgrounds, that on a daily basis worked in their own studios. A few years he was even an active member on the board of our foundation.

Unfortunately the death of Boris did not come unexpected. For quite some time we all knew he was fighting cancer.

On behalf of the board of the SAUS - the foundation responsible for the maintenance of all the studios in the Utrechtsedwarsstraat in Amsterdam -, I would like to offer you our condolences. It’s is sad to realise that Boris is no longer here with us, but especially with you, his children and his other loved ones. We will cherish all the memories of him, and the beautiful films he has left us with.

Yours sincerely,
Chris de Koning, chairman of the SAUS

ATELIER COMMUNITY: Utrechtsedwarsstraat, Amsterdam

Tribute to Boris Gerrets from Utrechtsedwarsstraat

My thoughts are with you Alexandra and family. Wish you strength. Marianka

I read out loud this poem by Paul van Ostaijen for Boris, with music by Nora Fischer. Natasja

Voor Boris: These I took from my garden this morning. Sandra

Dag lieve Boris, onvergetelijk en mooi mens. Liesbeth

Thinking of you, and what a beautiful person Boris was, all the time Alexandra. Dag lieve Boris. Esther

Danke lieve Boris. Wineke

Tschüss lieber Boris! Tineke

Boris was always very involved with
everything that had to be done;
in a small scale with our ‘atelier community’
and in a large scale with the world.
He was a very generous person.
I will miss him,
as we will all.
Sandra Kruisbrink, Artist

Sinds 1994 beheren wij samen met Boris een prachtig ateliergebouw in het centrum van Amsterdam. Sinds de eerste symptomen van Boris zijn ziekte, hebben wij altijd geweten wat voor een precaire situatie dit was. Gezien hij grote films bleef maken en daar tussendoor ook nog verhuisden, was Boris zijn strijd, voor ons, niet heel zichtbaar. Het leek lang goed te gaan met hem. Als we hem zagen ging het, alsjeblieft niet dáárover, maar veel liever over de inderdaad, veel interessantere film projecten waar hij aan werkte. Projecten die dikwijls ook zwaar waren, maar dat was nimmer een probleem, leek het. Zijn films waren veelal geen ongevaarlijke projecten, maar Boris kwam totaal niet over als een wilde avonturier. Bijna het omgekeerde; Een uitgebalanceerde, goed verzorgde en elegante voormalig danser, die hij ook was.

Nu Boris opeens toch dood is, is dat een grote schok voor iedereen in het gebouw. Opeens is het zo. En niet iets wat al jaren een beetje in de lucht hangt. Het slaat een diep gat. We zijn allemaal zeer bedroeft. We hebben geen afscheid van hem kunnen nemen, mede door de epidemie. Iets dat echt zwaar te verkroppen is, als je een dak met elkaar deelt. Hij heeft veel bijgedragen aan de goeie sfeer en goeie staat van ons levendige atelierpand. Iedereen die Boris gekend heeft weet, wat voor een lief, bedreven, optimistisch, hartelijk, verstandig, zorgzaam, zorgvuldig, knap, getalenteerd iemand hij was. Wij prijzen ons gelukkig dat hij gedurende vele jaren deel uitmaakte van onze groep. Zijn geest zal ons pand nog lang blijven inspireren.

Zijn atelier genoten;

Serge Onnen, Hans Picard, Liesbeth van Keulen, Sandra Kruisbrink, Koen Vermeule, Wineke Gartz, Tineke Geidanus, Marianka Halters, Esther Bruggink, Natasja Boezem & Ayako Yoshimura

For Boris.
Rest in power.

by: Annemarie Jacir

Tribute to Boris Gerrets by Annmarie, Ossama & Shams

Dear Alex:

Today we lit a candle on the hills, for Boris.
The candle is from a church in Bethlehem.

Wild flowers. Spring in Palestine. Our sea.

And a moment of silence.

All our love from Haifa,
Annemarie, Ossama & Shams

Boris was a master. Masters live forever.

Boudewijn Koole, Producer & Director