Erik Terpstra

Biography

Erik Terpstra was a Dutch filmmaker. He attended the Theatre School in Arnhem and was one of the first students to register for the Netherlands Film Academy. He graduated in 1962 and made his debut in 1965 with the short feature film Versier de leegte. His first feature film, which was released in 1967, would end up being his best known: De verloedering van de Swieps, adapted from the eponymous book written by Heere Heeresma. Ramses Shaffy plays a sponger who moves in with a middle-class couple. The film started as a television production for the NCRV, but ended up being released as a film.

The fact that there was no Dutch feature film industry was problematic for Terpstra, and this could be seen in 1969 in the commentary on Eigentijds, a film about the birth control pill that was commissioned by the pharmaceutical company, Organon. The reactions to Voorgrond, achtergrond - part of a piece written by Leo Vroman for the Holland Festival in 1969 - were more positive. His following, and last, film, Daniël, was compared with Mira, Wat zien ik? and Blue Movie, but didn't draw in anywhere near the same number of viewers.