Emiel van Moerkerken

Biography

Emiel van Moerkerken is the son of the writer P.H. Moerkerken, and came into contact with the Dutch avant-garde at a young age, including via the writer E. du Perron. Van Moerkerken was a versatile artist who also enjoyed fame as a writer and a photographer, in addition to being a filmmaker. He was also a psychologist.

In the early 1930s, Van Moerkerken was a member of the Filmtechnische Leergangen, where he worked with filmmakers such as Willem Bon, Frans Dupont, and Gerard Saan. He was then the camera assistant for Andor von Barsy and Max de Haas.

Although Van Moerkerken was involved in many art forms, filming remained a recurring theme in his life. With some regularity, he made short experimental films that were strongly rooted in the ideas of the international avant-garde and surrealism. His short film Koekoekswals / The Cuckoo Waltz was selected for the second international experimental festival that was organized in 1958 on the occasion of the World’s Fair in Brussels.

In the 1960s, Van Moerkerken spent several years working for television, and also taught film technique at the Nederlandse Filmacademie. His final film, Volgend jaar in Holysloot from 1983, was awarded a Golden Calf for best short film.