19/03/2024 - The Netherlands’ Rogier Kappers directs a witty self-portrait documentary which sees the director following his life’s dream, between highs and lows, of becoming a famous glass player

“What if more people did their best to be famous before they died?”. It’s this question which kicks off Glass, My Unfulfilled Life, a documentary by Dutch director Rogier Kappers who filmed himself over a seven-year period following his childhood dream to become famous by playing glasses, or a “glass organ”, as he prefers to call it. Screened in the 42nd Bergamo Film Meeting’s Close Up section, as well as in the 26th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival’s Newcomers competition, where it won the Golden Alexander, following its world premiere in last year’s IDFA, the film is a prime example of how you can make a captivating documentary about a pretty straightforward life story: that of a middle-aged loveable loser (until proved otherwise) who still hasn’t decided what road to take in life.

At the beginning of the film, Rogier Kappers (who previously authored another documentary, Lomax the Songhunter, in 2004, also revolving around music) is 52 years old and considers himself a lucky man, in spite of it all: both his parents are still alive, he has two wonderful children by two different women, a house in the city and one in the countryside, a scooter and a variety of musical instruments. But if he dropped dead tomorrow, what would people say at his funeral? We don’t find out what line of work Rogier was involved in beforehand, we only know that he suffered from burnout and quit his job, and is now looking for a project which will bring him fame, money and perhaps even love. The filmmaker had embarked on a number of projects before the present endeavour, including shooting a war film (except that the war he’d wanted to film had finished in the meantime) and building an eco-sustainable house in the countryside (if only the house wouldn’t keep sinking into the soil). When Rogier announces that his latest plan is to become a street musician – and that the instrument he’ll play is composed of various sized, water-filled glasses – his parents are perplexed, to say the least, and his friends quite literally laugh in his face, before insisting that: “If you really believe in it, you have to push through all adversity”.

And, as it happens, Rogier doesn’t give up. We’re privy to the various preparatory stages of his latest obsession: there’s the construction of the organ (from deciding upon which glasses to use to the container he’ll use to transport the instrument to town squares) and the practice sessions (his repertoire includes Bach, Jacques Brel and The House of the Rising Sun); there’s his encounter with his idol, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt – with Rogier enquiring if Pärt would be willing to write music for his glass organ - and his very first street performances, replete with the curiosity of passers-by and the first coins falling into his hat. But there’s far more to this film, and it would be criminal to give too much away and reveal the twists and turns of this story which, between the highs and lows of Kappers’ endeavour and some very effective surprises, is so well structured that it keeps the audience engaged, entertained and keen to find out where the exploits of our immediately endearing protagonist will take him. The film is further accompanied by a third person voiceover which lends the story a fairy-tale touch and a subtle humour which alleviates even the darkest of moments. It’s a modest, individual story which has the potential to speak to everyone, and a coming-of-old-age tale which urges us, helped by Rogier’s kind smile and wild eyes, to never give up on our dreams.

Glass, My Unfulfilled Life is produced by Zelovic Film, belonging to Lidija Zelovic and Kappers himself, whose motto is: “The smaller the story, the wider the world it can reach”.

(Translated from Italian)