This film is a poetic documentary about people in Kenya who are imprisoned by the global flower industry. The dilemmas of the industry become painfully clear and a dark world of oppression, sexual abuse and terrible working conditions unfolds. There is only one conclusion possible: the smell of the imported rose is not sweet, but bitter. The film combines pure observation with direct comments of the main characters. The camera is absent and present at the same time. With great humanity van Zantvoort shows us a different world in which all human life is valuable.
Ton van Zantvoort
He is an independent filmmaker and takes the initiative to produce a film in accordance with his own interest. His way of producing seems to be connected with direct cinema; direct observations with minimum external interference and control over virtually the entire process of making a film. However, in Ton’s films, you will notice that the preference lies in styling and emphasizing the layout of image and sound. This makes the work original and bears witness, content wise, to the enormous willpower of the maker. Throughout his films, Ton consciously lays down his statement, through which he creates his own vision of reality. The vision of a western civilized person who makes us do some soul searching. Some confronting soul searching, yet making it a process you want to endure as long as possible.
