Van varen

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands celebrates her eighteenth birthday. Because she is the patroness of the merchant navy the Koninklijke Nederlandse Reders Vereniging (KNRV; association of shipowners) wants to present her with an appropriate gift. Van der Elsken was charged with mapping Dutch shipping companies all over the world. In return, he and his wife Gerda van der Veen could sail free of charge on all KNRV ships. The film once more demonstrates that in more than a thousand years man has learned to live comfortably at sea. Passengers repose in a cocktail bar and laze about on the ship‘s deck. Meanwhile strappers navigate their cargo ships, while the crew hammers and toils. Back in Holland Van der Elsken edited the images of VAN VAREN without a soundtrack. Text and music were added afterwards. VAN VAREN is Van der Elsken‘s first film.