George Sluizer Biography

Fast Facts

• Was honored as a Knight of the Order of Oranje-Nassau and was a member of the Council of Arts from 1974 to 1980
• Was an honorary member of the Dutch Directors Guild, the Dutch Producers Guild, and the Dutch Filmmakers Association
• Attended the IDHEC Film Academy in Paris in the 1950s
• Completed his first film, a documentary called "Hold Back the Sea," in 1961, which went on to win a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival
• Quote: "I only provide the cornerstones, the audience has to put the story together, reinvent it according to their moods and feelings․ But I do not deny I have a basic instinct to disturb․"
• Quote: "My strength as a filmmaker lies in my beliefs and convictions, and not in the 'communis opinio' of too many people․ Filmmaking for me is a combination of my personal vision with what I think the audience wants to see․"
• Best known as the director of two versions of "The Vanishing" and of River Phoenix's last film, "Dark Blood․"
• Was a professor at the Netherlands Film Academy from 1972 to 1979
• Directed the first version of "The Vanishing" in 1988 and saw it chosen as the Dutch entry for the 1989 Academy Awards before directing the second version in 1992
• Nineteen years after it was left unfinished due to River Phoenix's death, he was able to complete "Dark Blood" in 2012