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The Curse of The Dutchman

A young history student goes to his uncle’s mansion to find out what caused the old man descend into madness.

  • Angel Radev
    Director
  • Angel Radev
    Writer
  • Noura Al Kadri
    Producer
  • Velizar Binev
    Key Cast
    "Professor Strand"
  • Meglena Karalambova
    Key Cast
    "Landlady"
  • Ventsislav Sariev
    Key Cast
    "Young man"
  • Nenad Boroevich
    director of photography
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Silent, black and white, horror
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 58 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 5, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Bulgaria
  • Country of Filming:
    Bulgaria
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • BRNO16 Brno, Czech Republic 2022
Director Biography - Angel Radev

Angel Radev is a Bulgarian director, editor, and composer, born in 1989 in the seaside city of Burgas. He graduated from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia and started work in the Bulgarian National Film Archive. He is a Member of the Bulgarian Filmmakers Union. He has worked as an editor on numerous Bulgarian television series. His passion for silent cinema led him to write and direct the German Expressionism inspired “The Curse of the Dutchman” and his desire to experiment with structure led to the creation of “Echo”. He is currently working on a thriller short set in his hometown and a feature length drama about the unexpected consequences of the current machine learning revolution.

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Director Statement

The film recounts the story of Professor Holger Strand, a historian obsessed with the legend of the phantom ship the Flying Dutchman. The viewer is transported to an abandoned house, in the company of the professor’s nephew. A historian like his uncle, he is determined to solve the mystery of his relative’s ill fate. Despite its old glory, the house is unkempt, the uncle’s study bears traces of fire. The nephew learns how the professor tried to burn the place down in a desperate attempt to get rid of the curse that haunted him. The young man is attacked by that same invisible terrifying force. The Curse is shown through a series of scenes shot in Dutch angle, a well-known style of filming pertaining to the silent era in which the camera's horizon is tilted to one side. Through this technique, I visually show the presence of the Curse, but I also draw a parallel to the stormy sea much like Abel Gance in Napoleon. The use of a Dutch angle also refers to the Dutchman in the film's title and closes the conceptual framework. The young man manages to outwit the evil force that haunts him. Upon trying to leave the house he faces something even more horrifying - he realizes that he is a character in a movie.