In memoriam: filmmaker and camera pioneer Leonard Retel Helmrich

“During filming, I always try to capture the moment in one continuous shot. I keep the camera rolling until the moment has passed.” Those are the words of Leonard Retel Helmrich, one of the most acclaimed Dutch filmmakers, shared in discussing his renowned single shot during his IDFA Masterclass in 2010. Retel Helmrich passed away on Saturday July 15, at the age of 63.

Retel Helmrich was born in Tilburg in 1959 and graduated from The Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam in 1986, specialized in directing, screenplay, and editing. He gained international acclaim for this signature camera style and technique—the Single Shot Cinema style.

Many of Leonard Retel Helmrich’s films were premiered at IDFA. Most of his films were produced by Scarabeefilms, which he founded together with his sister filmmaker/producer Hetty Naaij Helmrich in 1989. His film trilogy Eye of the Day (2001), Shape of the Moon (2004), and Position Among the Stars (2010) are regarded by connoisseurs and critics as one of the highlights of his work. With these three films, Retel Helmrich shows Indonesia through the eyes of a working-class family in Jakarta which he intensively followed over the course of twelve years. Retel Helmrich had a special connection to Indonesia, underlined by his own roots—his parents were Indonesian. Using his astonishing cinematographic style, these films presenting the tensions of Indonesian society to a global audience, addressing themes such as religious and generational conflicts, and the nation’s growing inequality. In 2004, Shape of the Moon was the opening film of IDFA and received the Joris Ivens Award for Best Documentary. At IDFA 2010, the trilogy’s closing film Position Among the Stars won the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary, and the IDFA Award for Best Feature-length Documentary.

The Single Shot Cinema technique Retel Helmrich developed was fundamental to his films. His self-constructed camera technology enabled smooth and flexible camera movement, creating an immersive film experience. “If you want to change the world, you have to invent something,” Leonard Retel Helmrich revealed in the same Masterclass. His camera invention undoubtedly contributed a unique film style and visual language to the world of cinema. For him, the movement of the camera was the essence of the film. “I want a heavy camera to move as freely as possible in a space. Movements that a person behind the camera can never physically make. When you’re intuitively in the moment, your personal emotion only really becomes visible in the images. The framing doesn’t have to be perfect, as long as the movement is good.” The New York Times described him as “the master of impossible camera angles” made possible by the patented devices he developed, incuding ’Orbit’ and ‘Steadywing’.

In 2017, Retel Helmrich suffered an acute cardiac arrest in Lebanon while shooting his last documentary The Long Season. He survived the cardiac arrest, but became severely disabled. The film premiered at IDFA 2017 and won the Best Dutch documentary award. In 2018, the film received a nomination for the Golden Calf at the Netherlands Film Festival.

IDFA was deeply saddened by the news of this loss and sends strength to all Leonard Retel Helmrich’s relatives and friends. We take comfort in his rich legacy, which will continue to be treasured by film lovers across the globe.

English translation: Roxy Merrell