A Portrait of Rik Oostenbroek - Private: Tomas Kamphuis
Private: Tomas Kamphuis
The Dutch-Israeli director Tomas has an insatiable curiosity for people. Especially for those who go off the beaten track; the adventurers, the rebels, the round pegs in the square holes. What drives them, us?
Steering away from anything that came close to a 9 to 5 job his own quest took a decisive turn in 2015: together with a Director of Photography he took off on a 6000-kilometer bike ride through 14 countries, during which they created short documentaries. Tomas gets euphoric when he talks about universal values that bind us all, despite cultural differences.
‘Usually there’s a lot of talking in documentaries, but it’s almost impossible to put those values in words. That’s why I often prefer to use visuals and music to get positive feelings like that across – even in places where you don’t expect it. I guess I like to show, and don’t tell.’
When he returned they started a production company called ‘’Salt’’ where he, besides making documentaries, also worked for brands like Hyundai, Fujifilm, Heineken and Samsung. Thanks to his background in music and edit, his work has always relied heavily on rhythm.
Tomas’ professional life took another turn when he decided to start directing fulltime, and no longer run a company. And here we are.
‘I’m a positive guy, but I love to create tension to bring out the best in a story; joy often comes with a bit of effort. Plus, I’m a people’s person and would like to work more with actors and enrich my horizon as a storyteller in general – without losing the authenticity, sincerity and humanity of documentaries.’