The magical film world of Ivonne (39) from Wytgaard: ‘Sex, fjochtsjen, neat is real and that is fantastic’

“Silence in the hallway,” calls Ivonne Verbeek (39). “Three, two, one, action!” Her word is law, as it turns out this afternoon in a house at the Ripperda Park in Haarlem.

When Verbeek says it has to be quiet, then it is dead quiet. If she wants the camera to roll, the camera will roll. In this case for the movie Wonderful a ‘remake’ of a German film that can be seen in cinemas from November.

A little later, Verbeek greets actress Hannah Hoekstra, who reports for a scene with little Olly. Hoekstra, Nina in the film, reads. Olly, Piet in this case, does not want to listen.

An anthill on the set

It looks like an anthill on the film set. Everyone is walking back and forth, busy. Actors come and go, cameras are moved, lighting and sound technicians constantly check their equipment, there is always consultation. The crew that Verbeek manages consists of 30 people. This includes the people who take care of road closures, catering and picking up and dropping off the main actors.

She feels like a fish in water. Ask Verbeek’s colleagues to describe her and they say: calm, keeping an overview, flexible but strict, able to withstand peak loads, not a popie.

Ask director Maurice Trouwborst and he says: if making a film is a Rubik’s Cube, then Ivonne Verbeek is the one who finds the solution in no time, turning and thinking.

In a class with seven children

She puts that compliment in her pocket. And it’s true, she says. Moreover, this is the work she loves and is good at. “Film is magic. Sex, fjochtsjen, nothing in film is real. Everything is easy, everything is created. To be unique in the way that processes are not encountered in the world we travel to is fantastic. And what concerns me more: the bigger, the better .” The bigger the production, the better she likes it.

She hasn’t really changed much since her childhood in Wytgaard. Even then she was curious, she wanted to discover the wide world and see what else was for sale. “Son, I see you in class May 7, Bern. That’s what I must have imagined. But I wol wol more. I always wanted to discover and understand things.”

She completed her Photonics (photo and film) course in Drachten and then opted to study Media and Entertainment Management at Stenden in Leeuwarden. “I’ll soon be a fan: this is the wool.”

Sniff the Dog

Her then boyfriend provided catering during the filming of two Snuf de Hond films by Steven de Jong in 2007. She saw her opportunity and asked if she could play a significant role behind the scenes. That was possible. She was given an assistant role. “I have never been to a film set. I think we just have that in Friesland.” She put her studies on hold for three months and immersed herself in the adventure.

It turned out to be the prelude to more. Her name is now behind a truckload of films and series. At first she was third assistant director , or assistant to the recording director. She has been a recording director herself for seven years, first assistant director right-hand man of the director.

A list of films to which she made a major contribution: Buenas Chicas, Alpha, A Small Light, Incognito, Splendid Isolation, De Club van Sinterklaas. She worked as an assistant on the set of, among other things The Battle of the Scheldt and The Hitman’s Bodyguard .

Ultimately a ‘city famke’

She once left for Amsterdam for an internship at Lemming Film for five months. She now lives in the North district and has been an Amsterdam resident for fifteen years. “Warskynlik I can never go back.”

She loves the hustle and bustle of the city and the buzz of life. “I always wanted to do that, but I never really thought that I would ever live in a city family. I who ski, have fun. But I want to sound my own gong. And neither do I.”

Her work is comprehensive. In essence, says Verbeek, you should see it this way: she divides the script of a film or series into small parts and makes the planning beforehand. When is a location available? At what point can actors be deployed? How much time is there and what is a convenient division? She thinks about every detail. “That duo of samar twa moans.”

To quote director Trouwborst: she provides the groceries with which he can serve something tasty and beautiful. He makes a whole from the individual parts that Verbeek supplies him.

Painting old furniture

During the recording days she is the spider in the web. She is in charge and therefore doesn’t really have a second to herself. Stressful, says Verbeek.

“But I’m good at that. Stress helps me to cope with even bigger products. I have to think that I can relax outside of the strain. That, but I also try to paint all the furniture, or I might even paint it entirely. Allinnich. Sometimes I talk to myself or to Freon. And then I would like to bring fans with my freon.”

Crazy actually, she says. She used to dread admissions directors. “And no I don’t know it. I’m kind of a fan boss, but I would like to have Freon every once in a while. That is sometimes boring. I have to tie knots now and then. I can always just wait for May to play as well as in an actor at any time. The room is as good as it gets. It skema is tight.”

Member of Kaatsclub in Amsterdam

According to Verbeek, there are about fifty people in the Netherlands who do what she does, about ten of whom are women. And as far as she knows, no other one comes from Friesland. “Bêst wol unyk eins. But there I just stood still. It is normal for me, it is my problem.”

Although she has been in ‘the business’ as a self-employed person for a long time, she still worries from time to time whether she is getting enough assignments. It turns out fine every time. In fact, she often has to cancel potential clients because she doesn’t have time for another job. She can choose, especially in spring and summer. She sometimes does an advertisement for the quick earnings. For the Hema recently.

Heit and Mem still live in Wytgaard, just like her brothers and best friend. She still visits Friesland regularly, even willingly. To maintain the bond with her birthplace in Amsterdam, Verbeek is an active member of the capital’s Kaats Club. Then she also speaks Frisian in her hometown.

Potato in the throat

She likes to do that. “There was a time when I tried to speak Dutch safolle without Frisian language. That’s why I’m now chirping in the keel, it’s my home.” She laughs. “But I still hope that I speak in our own language. Minsken freegje faak: ‘Where are you from?’ I like that.”

The next scene awaits in the Haarlemmer house. Actress Caro Lenssen has already laid down on the couch in the renovated living room. “Windows and doors closed,” says Verbeek. “We’re going to rehearse first.”

Silence.