The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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LMGI COMPASS | Summer 2024 • 23 Stevie: ARE YOU A "DEN BOSCH" NATIVE? Benjamin Hendriks: I was born in Tilburg but moved to Den Bosch in 2012. My girlfriend and I thought the city was beautiful and it's close to where our families live. It's just an hour from Amsterdam where the majority of filming in the Netherlands takes place. Stevie: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WORKING IN LOCATIONS? BH: I've always been fascinated by cinema. I enrolled in film studies in Antwerp back in the day, a very theoretical study with no practical experience whatsoever. Film analysis, world cinema, philosophy, modern and contemporary film movements, things like that. Around 2010, I applied for a job at the Museum for Film and the Art of the Moving Image in the Netherlands. I had to bridge a four-month gap and decided to apply for a small job as a production coordinator for a Dutch police series called Flikken Maastricht. I got the job, and afterward was asked to be an assistant location manager. After two projects as an assistant, I started as a location manager on another police drama, Smeris, which coincidentally was filming in my then hometown of Tilburg. I guess the producers were confident to put me on the job despite having little experience because I knew the city so well. I wasn't afraid to make the jump that quickly, because in my mind, I had the film museum to fall back to if it didn't work out. But I have been working as a location manager ever since and the next time I set foot in the museum was for a premiere of a film I worked on a couple of years later! Stevie: WHAT KINDS OF PROJECTS DO YOU WORK ON? BH: I've worked on both smaller Dutch projects and bigger American ones. I honestly like both. It is a fun challenge to accommodate a crew of 300 with their trucks in the small streets of Amsterdam, but with small Dutch crews of 40-50 people, it can be very efficient getting things done quickly and professionally without losing precious time. The recent strikes in Hollywood have also shown that it is not wise to be completely dependent on servicing US and UK film productions. While colleagues from the United States have gone through a very difficult period, fortunately, I have been able to keep working in the domestic film industry. I've had the opportunity to work on Dunkirk, Atlanta, Modern Love and more recently, the Steve McQueen documentary Occupied City which premiered in Cannes. Currently, I'm working on both a Dutch film and an Australian production, both filming in the Netherlands. Stevie: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE PRIMARY DRAW FOR FILMING IN & AROUND DEN BOSCH & ITS SURROUNDING AREAS? WHAT KIND OF "LOOKS" ARE THERE? WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES? BH: As in many European countries, the capital is the central hub for filmmakers. In addition to the crew and equipment, many film locations are sought in the vicinity. Den Bosch is an hour's drive away and offers more options than many people initially think. The city is surrounded by several natural areas. Het Bossche Broek and the Moerputten offer unspoiled nature within a few minutes' walk of the city center, In addition to the historic center with stately St. John's Cathedral and narrow, pleasant streets, Den Bosch has many canals, a centuries-old system of watercourses within the walls of the city. Unlike in Amsterdam or Utrecht, for example, these are not in front of the houses, but behind them. Some are underground. As an unsuspecting passerby, this is initially not noticeable to the eye. A very popular city tour for tourists is the Binnendieze "sewer" boat tour which travels through these canals and tunnels that originally functioned as Den Bosch's sewer in medieval times. Along the way, you can spot many sculptures based on Bosch's fantastical creatures that populated his paintings. These whimsical Bosch-inspired sculptures were placed throughout the city in 2016 to celebrate the 500-year anniversary of Bosch's death. The Tramkade, the film-friendly site of a former compound feed factory, is full of striking silos and industrial buildings. Today, it has grown into a cultural hub. On the other side of the city, you will find the film-friendly Paleiskwartier, where various architectural masterpieces can be found. The name of the district refers to the Palace of Justice and the architectural residential complexes with a central water feature are particularly typical. Courtesy of Benjamin Hendriks/LMGI Stevie Nelson talks to Benjamin Hendriks/LMGI about his hometown, 's-Hertogenbosch ("the Duke's Forest"), affectionally known as "Den Bosch." Renowned as the birthplace of famed, fantastical artist Hieronymus Bosch, who took the city's name as his own. All photos by Benjamin Hendriks/LMGI, except as noted.