Als je studie je tot wanhoop drijft

Beeld Bram Belloni
black & white
Angelica Ränttilä (23) loves writing and aerobics,
and left Sweden for Amsterdam this semester to study
international journalism at MIC.
Tv I’ve seen every episode of Grey’s Anatomy
and Sex and the City. And since I am a
journalist-to-be, I have to say I watch the
news too, right? Well, yes, I’ve always been
interested in what’s going on around me.
I did my internship at Swedish TV4 last
spring as a researcher for their morning
show called “Nyhetsmorgon”, and had a
really good time. I’d love to work in TV in
the future.
Film My favourite film is Little Miss
Sunshine. I just love that kind of feel-good
film. And even though I’m far from rich as
a student, I go to the movies at least once
a month. Not only because of the popcorn,
but because of the experience. The bigger the
screen, the better the film, is my mantra.
City Before I started studying journalism
at Mid-Sweden University, I spent a year
in New York as an au pair. The girls I took
care of were 15-year-old twins — which basically
meant that all I had to do was to give
them a ride to school and take the dog out.
Conclusion: I really had a lot of free time to
spend exploring this wonderful city. I fell in
love with everything about it! I still miss it
and want to go back, every day.
Sports I love skiing, swimming and aerobics.
I’m a huge fan of the Swedish ski team,
and the Olympics keeps me busy for hours
every other year. I used to swim four times
a week and have competitions every other
Sunday when I was younger. I quit when
I was 16, because I wasn’t good enough.
Last summer I fought for a really strong
comeback, though. I participated in a really
famous competition called “Vansbrosimmet”
in Sweden and swam three kilometres in a
river; two downstream and one upstream.
It’s a miracle I made it — I’m so scared of
fish I could die! It’s phobic.
Drinks Cappuccino, latte, dark roasted or
freshly brewed doesn’t matter. I could go
for anything. I’m a real coffee junkie. My
favourite is iced caramel macchiato from
Starbucks. I also like chai tea, and really
enjoy a glass of wine on weekends. I could
kill for a Coca-Cola when I have a hangover.
And I always carry a bottle of water in my
purse. I guess I’m just that kind of person
who drinks a lot!
Names If you think my last name is weird
— no worries, not even other Swedes can
pronounce it — it’s because it’s Finnish! My
dad came to Sweden when he was 12. People
make jokes about it all the time and I often
find it embarrassing having to spell it over
and over again. If there was a competition
about getting as many different ways of spelling
your last name as you can on your mail,
I would probably be top ten in Europe. n
what’s on
TIPS
for
YOU
Melkweg, all days
Studio Ghibli 2
Melkweg presents three weeks of anime
films, all courtesy of the legendary Japanese
production house Studio Ghibli. Until 30
March. For more information, see www.
iamsterdam.com/whatson and www.melkweg.nl
for programme details.
Ketelhuis, 10-20 March
Roze Filmdagen
A stronghold for gay and lesbian film
since 1996, this festival aims to highlight all
aspects of quality gay cinema for a broad
audience: feature films, documentaries and
shorts that are missing in the regular cinematic
offerings. Until 20 March. For more information,
see www.iamsterdam.com/whatson.
Stadsschouwburg, 10 March
Spoken (“Ghosts”)
This spring sees the premiere of the first
direction by Thomas Ostermeier, artistic director
of the renowned Berliner Schaubühne,
for Amsterdam-based company Toneelgroep
Amsterdam. Typically Ibsen, Ghosts, the
Norwegian playwright’s 1881 work, is a painful
indictment of bourgeois bigotry behind
pretended morals and “keeping up appearances”.
Subtitled in English. For more information,
see www.iamsterdam.com/whatson.
De Appel, opens 12 March
Mika Rottenberg
The works by Buenos Aires-born, New Yorkbased
multimedia artist Mika Rottenberg see
their Dutch premiere this spring in Amsterdam’s
De Appel arts centre. Rottenberg’s
almost surrealist films can be seen as a
commentary on women’s right to self-determination,
the idealisation of the stereotypical
body and even the position of workers in a
globalised capitalist economy. However, her
art never lacks the element of absurd humour.
For more information, see www.iamsterdam.
com/whatson.
Muziekgebouw, 12 March
Mondriaan Quartet
The quartet goes in search of the musical
sources of inspiration of the painter they’re
named after and works that he, in turn, has inspired;
it finds works by Webern, Guus Janssen,
Morton Feldman and van Domselaer. The
performances will be accompanied by projections
of three different Mondriaan paintings,
and there will also be a film screening of a
film by Hans Janssen, for which he documented
people’s reactions to Mondriaan’s Victory
Boogie Woogie. For more information, see
www.iamsterdam.com/whatson.
havana international
sweet spot
From Squat to
Cultural Centre
The plan was to let it rot, knock it down
and build a bicycle path. However, twelve
years later, former Amsterdam Film Academy
OT301 is still standing. A good friend of
mine recently invited me to come and see it
for myself. Housing a vegan restaurant, cult
cinema and underground music scene, how
could I not?
The OT301 is situated on the Overtoom,
right in the centre of Amsterdam. Nothing
fancy is to be expected of the building. After
all, it has been squatted and that past is still
clearly visible. The woodwork is close to falling
apart and the windows are dirty enough
not to be able to see through them. From the
looks of it, the alternative cultural centre isn’t
so inviting. However, that all changes when
you enter the building.
The aroma of delicious food welcomes you
as you make your way through the double
doors. Vegan restaurant De Peper is situated
behind the first door on the left. Serving
strictly local, organic food the restaurant is
the ideal place for people who are looking
for a unique kind of experience. The prices
are great too, ranging from 7 to 10 euros for
a full meal. Any leftovers are handed out on
a donation basis by the end of the night.
To think the food is just an extra is quite
amazing. What the centre is really famous
for is its love for art and music. Right at the
end of the hall I found out why. The very last
door on the ground floor leads to Studio 1+2:
a beautiful venue just big enough to hold
about 250 people. The main performance
space is equipped with sound, light and video
projection systems making it possible for
fanatics to vent their creativity.
The other three floors in the building house a
cinema, workspaces for artists and spaces for
workshops. The entire place breathes a sense
of inventiveness.
Directions: Tram 1 from Central Station,
stop Overtoom/Jan Pieter Heijestraat.
Melanie de Vries
havana 13