Fidgety Bram
Anna van der Heide
Seven-year-old Bram is a bright young boy, interested in everything around him large and small. So he can hardly wait to enter the first grade at primary school. However, by ending up in the class of Mr Fish, he meets a teacher who doesn’t exactly conform with his expectations of school. Not only is Mr Fish strict; he is not in the least bit concerned as to why Bram fidgets all the time, gazes out of the window dreamily and is not able to concentrate on what he should be learning. Instead, Mr Fish attempts to instil the boy with discipline and diligence. As a result, Bram’s parents worry about their son’s happiness and don’t really know how to proceed. What can they do to help Bram come to terms with school? Either way, things take a surprising turn when Mr Fish breaks a leg.
Fidgety Bram tackles the theme of attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome (ADHS) with imagination and sensitivity. Despite the difficulties that Bran has to overcome, there’s a positive note to the film accompanied by a quiet conviction that if people work together a solution can be found.
Anna van der Heide
In 2003, Anna van der Heide (born 1978) graduated from the Theatre Academy in Maastricht with a degree in film direction. Before long, she became an assistant to director Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen and worked with him on several productions while realising her own film and theatre projects. Since 2006, she has also directed. In 2007, she won the Dutch Gold Calf Award for Best Short Film with MissiePoo16. She has also shot several episodes for children’s drama series and made-for- TV movies and was a co-scriptwriter on Briefgeheim, a feature film based on the famous Dutch children’s book by Jan Terlouw. Fidgety Bram was Anna van der Heide’s first film to appear on the cinema circuit.
Films by Anna van der Heide
Man in Park 2012 | Ik ben Willem 2009 | Zara 2009 | Roes 2008 | MissiePoo16 2007