Today marks exactly ten years since “The Other Side of the Heart is White” premiered for the Feyenoord audience. The film attracted full houses and reached the status of crystal film in exactly one cinema (Pathe De Kuip) in a record time of ten days. A unique experience in the film world. We can say retrospectively that whatever you might think of the film: the film marked the beginning of Feyenoord’s resurrection.
Ten years later, we spoke to filmmaker Leonardo Pansier about this unique achievement.
How did you actually come up with the idea to make that film?
“In a period when Feyenoord was never in such a bad position sportingly and financially, I came up with a plan to do something. I could no longer bear to see our club in such a bad state. I had already tried everything. Including setting off fireworks for the Ajax-Feyenoord training. “That idea had never come up before because it didn’t really seem necessary before, but Feyenoord always failed to win in 020.”
Would those fireworks before such a training have helped?
“It was all a waste of effort, because Feyenoord simply never won. Feyenoord just wasn’t good enough to win there. Do those players know what Feyenoord actually means to us? Feyenoord also lost 10-0 to PSV in Eindhoven during that period. Together with Jan de Knecht and Henk van den Dungen, I spoke to the players in the dressing room about their mentality. The players all looked lost. It was very surreal. The Maasgebouw riots that took place a year later were a low point in the club’s history. An interesting detail during that period was that I was not satisfied with the TIFO. Joris van Benthem will now curse me (sorry Joris), but during the semi-cup final against FC Twente I once thought it would be a good idea to light off flares and strobe lights in the 12th minute. That match was extremely important because it was the only bright spot during that period. I took the lead myself, bearing in mind that it could earn me a stadium ban. But I thought reaching the cup final was so important that I didn’t care if I could be punished.”
We won the match 2-1, how did that go for you?
“The TIFO action went as planned, and it produced the images I had hoped for. Feyenoord won that match and reached the final against Ajax, which had to be played over two matches, because our mayor Aboutaleb and the triangle decided that. Feyenoord lost that cup final in 2010. I received a stadium ban for a year and a half. After the Maasgebouw riots in 2011, I knew that the management of Feyenoord had their backs against the wall.”
That made you want to do something other than atmospheric campaigns?
“The Varkenoord Group was founded in which supporters from different walks of life came together to talk about how we could get our beloved club out of difficulties. There I met Hennie Huigen. I have been thinking about making a documentary about Feyenoord for some time now. But how and what exactly? I wasn’t really sure about that yet. I told Hennie about my idea, and Hennie suggested I put it on paper. Then the ball started rolling.”
Can you tell us a little about how the production went?
“I got the green light from the management of Feyenoord to film together with Brandon Baan for two years. There was only one problem: I was still in my stadium ban. This ended exactly before the Feyenoord-Ajax match, which Feyenoord won 4-2. The football unit panicked slightly when they realized I was walking along the field with a camera during the Classic. For me it was one of the most special moments I was able to experience. And I have experienced some, I can tell you. But finally something could be recorded whereby Feyenoord would go off the field with a win against their arch enemy, which was never certain in those times.”
What was the best moment during production?
“In 2013 the circle came full circle for me. Brandon filmed me during a competition for section S in which I lit the red and white torch. The supporters in that section really had no idea what I was actually doing there. But for me that scene, which served as the final scene in the documentary, was the most important. This is because in 2010 I was banned from the stadium on that same section S due to lighting torches. The fact that I was allowed to light those torches again in 2013, but this time legally, had a symbolic value for me.”
Have you also had bad moments?
“The setback that I experienced myself, but which was often synchronized with the difficult path in which Feyenoord found itself, ultimately turned out to be progress. Feyenoord came from nowhere to second place that year, which Brandon and I had captured beautifully. Now ten years later, we are all well on our way, because Feyenoord has now become two national champions, twice the cup, twice the Johan Cruijff Shield, and reached the final of the Conference League. And the fans? Due have proven to be invaluable to me.”
“The Other Side of the Heart is White” was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Dutch Film Festival, and the Sports Documentary Festival.
2024-02-12 18:08:00
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