Joris Ivens (1898-1989) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker, and one of the most influential and acclaimed documentary filmmakers of the twentieth century. Born on November 18, 1898 in Nijmegen, Netherlands, Ivens was the son of an affluent merchant family. His father was a passionate photographer and introduced Ivens to the art of photography at an early age.
At the age of seventeen, Ivens left school to pursue a career in filmmaking. After a brief stint in the Netherlands military, Ivens began to make his first films in Germany and the Netherlands. His early works, such as The Bridge (1929) and A Tale of the Sea (1930) focused on the Dutch working class, and earned him international acclaim.
In the 1930s, Ivens began to travel around the world, making films in China, Spain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. His films during this time chronicled the struggles of the working class, and powerfully captured the spirit of international solidarity. His most famous films from this period are The Spanish Earth (1937) and The 400 Million (1939), which focused on the Spanish Civil War and the Chinese Revolution, respectively.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Ivens continued to make documentaries about the struggles of the working class, but began to focus more on the effects of colonialism and imperialism around the world. His films during this period, such as Indonesia Calling (1945) and A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1958), captured the brutality of colonialism and the power of the human spirit to resist oppression.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Ivens continued to make documentaries about the struggles of the working class, but began to focus more on the international environmental movement. His films during this period, such as The Bridge at Remagen (1967) and The Great Flood (1975), powerfully captured the devastating effects of war and environmental destruction.
Ivens continued to make documentaries until his death in 1989. His films have been hailed as some of the most powerful and influential documentaries of the twentieth century, and have been screened in film festivals around the world. His legacy lives on through his films, which continue to inspire and educate audiences around the world.
