How To Meet A Mermaid
Lex Schrijber went on a diving trip to Egypt in October 2000, but he never returned. His shoes, clothes and diver’s knife were found – stacked neatly – on a Red Sea beach. A diver never dives without his knife, and this fact alone was proof enough to filmmaker Coco Schrijber that her brother had made a fateful decision that day. Fifteen years later, she returns to the place where Lex was last seen, to find out why he disappeared and whether there were witnesses to his final hours. As in her previous work (including First Kill and Bloody Mondays & Strawberry Pies), Schrijber takes a multilayered, essay-like approach complemented by a lavish soundtrack, with the sea both alluring and repelling. Scenes of her search are juxtaposed with gorgeous seascapes that capture both the beauty and the destructive power of the ocean. She broadens the narrative from the personal perspective on Lex’s story by connecting it with the tales of Mexican surfer Miguel as he prepares his flight across the ocean, and the tragedy surrounding Rebecca, who disappeared from a cruise ship.
Elegantly enigmatic - Variety
Indrukwekkende soundtrack en overdonderend mooie beelden … How to Meet a Mermaid doet het geweld en het mysterie van de oceaan eer aan – De Volkskrant
Wat heerlijk om eens een echt filmessay aan te treffen in het Nederlandse filmlandschap – Trouw
Coco Schrijber is een van onze origineelste filmessayisten – NRC Handelsblad
Fascinerende, blikverbredende film met oogstrelende beelden en onthutsende bespiegelingen over paradijs, perceptie en illusie – VPRO Cinema
Coco Schrijber studied at the Rietveld Arts Academy from which she was expelled. Her debut In Motion premiered at IDFA and won first prize in CFF, Rome. Her first feature documentary First Kill (about one’s addiction to killing) was selected for the International Competition at IDFA, won the Press Award at The Dutch Filmfestival and the Audience Award in Kosovo. Her short Wonderful World won 6 international prizes. Bloody Mondays & Strawberry Pies (about the upside of boredom) won five international awards, the grand prize of The Netherlands and was the official entry for the Oscars. Coco is a much appreciated mentor, lecturing at the Dutch Filmschool, the Mexican Filmschool CCC (centro de capacitación cinematográfica) coaching numerous projects both Dutch and foreign and gave masterclasses in Malmö & Athene’s. Last year her screenplay Ola’s Universe was nominated for the Visser-Neerlandiaprijs (2014).
written & directed by
Coco Schrijber
cinematography
Lars Skree
sound
Tim van Peppen
editor
Gys Zevenbergen
Feature-length competition IDFA
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2016
Dutch Documentary competition IDFA
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2016
Finalist AWFJ EDA award
Best Female-directed Film
Official selection CPH:DOX
Denmark, 2017
Official selection Bergen International Film Festival
Norway, 2017
Official selection Docudays UA
Kharkiv, Ukraine, 2017
Official selection Biografilm Festival
Bologna, Italy, , 2017
Official selection Docs Against Gravity Film Festival
Poland, 2017
Official selection European Film Awards
Germany, 2017
a Zeppers Film production
in co-production with
Off World
House of Reel
in co-production with
VPRO
with the support of the
Netherlands Film Fund
the Dutch Cultural Media Fund
Danish Film Institute
Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF|FILM)