Jason

Maasja Ooms 90'

The film follows Jason as he undergoes trauma therapy. We witness a 22-year-old’s battle against the demons of the past and the sense of injustice of having been punished with incarceration in juvenile detention for something in which Jason is a victim rather than a perpetrator…

A painfully frank portrait of 22-year-old Jason as he undergoes trauma therapy. This is the third and final part of Maasja Ooms’ trilogy about the failing Dutch youth welfare services. As in the two previous documentaries Alicia and Rotjochies (Punks), the film is a critical observation from a very personal point of view.

Ooms closely follows Jason as he struggles with the psychological effects of a traumatic childhood, which were only intensified when he was taken into juvenile residential care at the age of 16. During intense therapy sessions, it becomes clear how much he has been harmed, and how far-reaching the consequences are when wrong decisions are made in the youth care system.

In Ooms’ caring and respectful portrayal, we see Jason not only as a victim, but also as a campaigner who uses his experiences to save others from suffering in the same way. This mission gives him the determination to get better and the strength to show his most vulnerable side, no matter how difficult that might be.

Premiere IDFA – 18 november 2021 // 20 november 2021

Maasja Ooms

Maasja Ooms attended the photo academy and the film academy in the early 1990s. After having worked only as a cinematographer for about 15 years, she developed as an editor. First with documentaries she had filmed herself, later also as an editing coach. Because of her strong content involvement as a cinematographer, films gradually became more collaborative and co-directed.

In 2013 Maasja started an extensive research project in which observations of behavior between people was central; from this resulted three films in which Maasja directed, camera and edited:

Between People(55’, VPRO, 2015)

Alicia (90’, VPRO, 2017, IDFA Nederlandse competitie)

Punks(90’, VPRO, 2019, IDFA Nederlandse competitie)

Previous co-productions:

Voices of Bam – 90’ IKON 2006 – Special Jury Prize at Tribeca Film Festival NY, Best Feature at Dokfest Kosovo, Best Film at Bucharest International Film Festival.

Boris Ryzhy – 55’ VPRO 2008 – Zilveren Wolf IDFA, Best Feature Documentary op Edinburgh International Film Festival, Dutch Filmcritics Award at Nederlands Film Festival.

Retourtje Hiernamaals – 55’ IKON 2011

Maasja Ooms – direction, cinematography, camera, sound, editing

Sander Vos – editor

Marc Lizier – sound design

In coproduction with VPRO