Photo-Eddy
Director David de Jongh
Countries Netherlands
Duration 84 min
Synopsis
Photographer Eddy de Jongh (1920-2002) gained modest fame in the 70s and 80s courtesy of his, unadorned portraits of prominent public figures such as Mies Bouwman, Joop den Uyl, Johan Cruyff, Simon Wiesenthal and Dr. Spock. The renowned weekly magazine Vrij Nederland published his photographs to accompany the interviews of journalist Bibeb, while the news broadcasts of the NOS (Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation) displayed his portraits behind the newsreader. As a young boy, director David de Jongh would often travel along with his father. When Eddy passes away in 2002, David sets out to look for the stories that his father had carefully concealed throughout his life. In his father’s archive David stumbles upon a mine of forgotten reportage photography from the 50s and 60s. He also finds out about the story of how Eddy miraculously survived World War II as the only member of his family. Photo-Eddy shows how ‘survivor’ Eddy de Jongh managed to hold his own after his traumatic experiences, thanks also to his photography. In his photographs and life Eddy created a world full of humour, adventure and beauty. At the same time however, his biography is defined by bankruptcies, broken relationships and addictions - events that not only he, but also his five spouses and his six children suffered the consequences of.
Photographer Eddy de Jongh (1920-2002) gained modest fame in the 70s and 80s courtesy of his, unadorned portraits of prominent public figures such as Mies Bouwman, Joop den Uyl, Johan Cruyff, Simon Wiesenthal and Dr. Spock. The renowned weekly magazine Vrij Nederland published his photographs to accompany the interviews of journalist Bibeb, while the news broadcasts of the NOS (Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation) displayed his portraits behind the newsreader. As a young boy, director David de Jongh would often travel along with his father. When Eddy passes away in 2002, David sets out to look for the stories that his father had carefully concealed throughout his life. In his father’s archive David stumbles upon a mine of forgotten reportage photography from the 50s and 60s. He also finds out about the story of how Eddy miraculously survived World War II as the only member of his family. Photo-Eddy shows how ‘survivor’ Eddy de Jongh managed to hold his own after his traumatic experiences, thanks also to his photography. In his photographs and life Eddy created a world full of humour, adventure and beauty. At the same time however, his biography is defined by bankruptcies, broken relationships and addictions - events that not only he, but also his five spouses and his six children suffered the consequences of.