Heddy Honigmann’s films are distinguished by their beautifully composed images and elegant structures, but what makes the Dutch filmmaker’s work unique is the manner in which she gains access to the farthest reaches of her subjects’ souls. Honigmann assesses the human condition using objects, poetry, and music to open the floodgates of memories and stories of such far-flung people as cab drivers from Lima, Bosnian widows, peacekeepers from around the world, and illegal immigrants in Paris.
An endlessly curious offscreen presence, Honigmann teases out the complex, astonishingly resilient, and often funny aspects of people’s amazing lives. Her questions are direct and compassionate but persistent—like those of an old, dear friend. Her fiction features and shorts, while less well-known, are characterized by the same complex yet straightforward presentation of images and emotions buried beneath the surface of quotidian existence as are her documentaries, and are no less afraid of dealing with taboo subject matter.
Organized by Jytte Jensen, Associate Curator, Department of Film and Media.
This exhibition is made possible by The Netherland-America Foundation and Holland Film. Additional support is provided by Ideale Audience, Paris, and the Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York. The Museum is grateful to Pieter van Huystee Film, Amsterdam, for allowing MoMA to host the world premiere of Dame la mano. Special thanks go to The Cutting Room and Stolichnaya Vodka.