Their parents don't know what to do anymore. A provisional guardianship is the last straw for a group of teenagers in Punks. On a remote farm in France, they have to get themselves back on the right track under the guidance of a social worker.
Painful and open-hearted conversations are necessary if there is to be any chance of a happy life. Mitchel has to get through a door with his father again, while too much may have happened since his mother's death. Jahlano is already one stage further. He is no longer allowed to live with his mother and has to overcome this disappointment. Mike, meanwhile, struggles with the image of a boy who may have 'a screw loose'.
Problems from the past keep nagging at Mike, while the teenagers try to tame their demons with music and talking sessions, constantly filmed from close by by director Maasja Ooms. The troubled teenagers show their most vulnerable side in this portrait that is as intimate as it is honest.Maasja Oomsattended 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 human behaviour were central; this resulted in two films in which Maasja directed, filmed and edited. Between People (55', VPRO, 2015) and ALICIA (90', VPRO, 2017, IDFA Special Jury Award for Dutch Documentary). The impact campaign was able to translate the movement triggered by the film into behavioural change and adjustment of policy for children in closed youth care.
With Rotjochies, Maasja takes the theme one step further: loyalty, the primal force that binds children to their parents. The film - in English 'Punks' - was in the main competition at IDFA and won the prize for best cinematography and best editor. The film also received a Special Mention in the category Dutch Documentary.Maasja Ooms - director, camera en sound
Sander Vos - editor
Mark Lizier - sounddesign
Laurent Fluttert - color grading
Fever Film - postproduction
Barbara Truyen - commissioning editor
Jet van Eeghen - translation
Harry Pallemans - subtitles
Generous Minds - impact
Vera Born - impact Cerutti Film
In coproduction with VPRO
With the support of stichting Het Vergeten Kind and CoBO-fonds
