Koert Davidse

Who am I? What is real? How to live in the madness of the world? These are questions posed by six people who have had psychosis and speak openly about their experience. They have in common that they think deeply, and that at particular moments in their lives, they were under intense personal and social pressure.

About 10 years ago, filmmaker Ton van Zantvoort got to know Stijn, an idealist with a cheerful, relaxed nature. Stijn is one of the last remaining Dutch shepherds working in the traditional way. We see the shepherd, his sheep and his three loyal dogs crisscrossing nature reserves and farmlands so the herd can graze the land in an eco-friendly way. But nowadays, little remains of the romance and peace that we associate with the centuries-old tradition of sheepherding. Tenders are increasingly hard to acquire—competition from big companies, cheap East European shepherds and smart machinery make Stijn the expensive choice.

At a small cemetery in Zeeland, two worlds meet for Bart’s funeral: his traditional, religious family and his loving friends from Amsterdam’s 1980s gay community. When Bart, the 28-year-old brother of filmmaker Koert Davidse, died of AIDS in 1986, silence surrounded both his illness and his coming out. Forty years later, Davidse revisits his brother’s free-spirited life through childhood memories, interviews, and Bart’s drawings and paintings. Once inseparable, the brothers drifted apart when Bart moved to Amsterdam—only to reconnect shortly before his death. In retracing this bond, Davidse bridges the gap between two lives and two cultures, crafting a deeply personal yet universal reflection on love, loss, and queer resilience amid a time of fear and change.

A football hooligan feels unconditional love for his club. However, being gay, he has to hide his identity in order to survive in this world that is so precious to him.

The 12-year-old black girl Ella is deprived of safety, opportunities, and freedom. Ella discovers that she has lived multiple lives in Ghana, Curaçao and Surinam as the immortal, extraterrestrial Xoxo. In this magical realistic feature with elements of science fiction, a paralleled world is created from where the aliens observe human thoughts and feelings.

Ferry Bertholet has a fascination for the Far East. Over the past 30 years he was specialized in collecting Chinese erotic art, which is no longer to be found in China itself, where it has been banned and destroyed. As a result, Bertholet now owns a big part of this cultural heritage. His collection is one of the largest in the world. It has also dominated his life: day and night, all he thinks about is his collection. At odds with this is the realization that his collection is basically just things. This is why he is now contemplating the idea of selling everything. If all goes well, this cultural heritage will return to its country of origin. Will it be a regret or a relief?

Worlds collide in more ways than one in this stunning collection. Confidence is violated, classes clash and desire is concealed, yet love still triumphs regardless of the consequences. Boys On Film 14: Worlds Collide features nine new, powerful, and dramatic short films: Lee Haven Jones's "Want It" starring Jamie Cutler and Alan Turkington; Sophy Holland and Alicya Eyo's "Brace" starring Jake Graf and Harry Rundle; Mauro Mueller's "A World For Raúl" starring Alexandré Barceló and Adrián Alonso; Dennis Shinners's "Barrio Boy" starring Dennis Garcia and Dan Leonard; Darwin Serink's "Aban + Khorshid" starring Mojean Aria and Bobby Naderi; Jan-Dirk Bouw's "I ♥ Hooligans"; Christopher Bradley's "The Violation" starring Slade Pearce, Elaine Hendrix, and Shayne Topp; Rafael Aidar's "The Package" starring Jefferson Brito and Victor Monteiro; and Søren Green's "An Afternoon" starring Ulrik Windfeldt-Schmidt and Jacob Ottensten.

An obsessive collector (Erik Fens) creates his own scrapbook world. The film presents analyses of the collecting impulse based on Freudian theorie and Buddhism.