Spoiler Alert! Johan Kramer makes awesome short film about Borre’s Future Vision

The Dutch creative industry is a 'top sector': an industry in which the Netherlands excels worldwide. CreativeNL, as an international label, wants to celebrate this and is therefore introducing a series of short films about shining examples of the Dutch creative industry. Top director Johan Kramer made the first film with Borre Akkersdijk, founder of BYBORRE, which aims to make the textile industry sustainable worldwide.

The Dutch government sees the creative industry as a vehicle for innovation and a means to make the world - accelerated - better and more beautiful. CreativeNL, the international label that encourages cooperation and knowledge exchange across borders, focuses on social themes such as circular design, digital society and the physical living environment.

Borre Akkersdijk is one of the Creative Thought Leaders, with whom CreativeNL will join forces in the coming years - as a proving ground for the Dutch creative industry as innovative, attractive and system-changing. This is what the world desperately needs right now.

Borre Akkersdijk, founder of impact-driven textile company BYBORRE, which works with leading brands such as Palace Skateboards, Natuzzi, The Social Hub and Porsche. 'For me, the basis of Dutch creativity is: how does something grow, and what system is behind it? Other 'creatives' I find inspiring who have changed the international landscape include architect Rem Koolhaas, Boyan Slat (of The Ocean Cleanup) and fashion designer Iris van Herpen. Each of them has put the Netherlands on the map as a 'changemaker' within a particular industry.'

I believe that change always begins with inspiration and idealism.

'The issues in the textile industry are super big, I believe that change always starts with inspiration and idealism. I sincerely believe that we are just getting started. We've proven over the past 10 years that BYBORRE is with us, that things can be different and that we have the perseverance to actually be able to change the textile industry - by offering sustainable materials, digitizing the production process, and our open-source mindset making it more transparent and accessible for everyone.

We've been around the table everywhere, in all the innovation labs and with influential brands. Everyone knows that it is possible to design and use better and sustainable textiles. It is therefore an honor to be asked by CreativeNL to work together for the better world of tomorrow and to join forces to literally take the story further into the world. There are no more excuses to make junk!

In addition, it was a joy to work with Johan Kramer; Johan shows (me) how you can and perhaps should continue to look at the world very openly, uninhibitedly as a child.'

Maximum creative freedom

Nils Adriaans, part of team CreativeNL: 'When we approached Borre, he was very open to a collaboration, on one condition: that we would at least sound out the most creative director in the Netherlands, Johan Kramer, if he wanted to make the short film. There was one problem: we don't have the mega-budgets of Nike or fashion houses - we work with public money. What we could offer Johan (and Borre), however, was maximum creative freedom. Apart from the fact that that is often the key to the best work, as far as we are concerned, it paid off to the max. Spoiler alert: the film is awesome.'

A new narrative

Johan Kramer, finally, about the short film and Borre: 'What makes him and his company special is that they try to completely innovate a conservative industry and show that you can get very far with enthusiasm, a new narrative, decisiveness and playful naivety.

Actually, Borre's story makes so much sense. It's crazy that the textile and fashion worlds are still far from transparent. We do our best to keep finding innovative forms to tell the same story in a different form. From new collections to PR. From mascots to a short film with CreativeNL. All those moments are opportunities to reach yet another new group of people, but that is only possible with truly original and sincere content.'

Credits
Director: Johan Kramer
DoP: Bart HoveijnCamera
Assist: Boyd Bakema
Light: Jan Narring
Sound: Erik Thomassen
Production Company: Holy Fools
Production: Julia Oosterwegel, Gianna Mazzeo & Frank de Kok
Post Production: Ambassadors
Post Producer: Carolina van Vugt
Edit: Zon van Noordwijk
Grading: Amy Besate
Online: Jeroen Baars, Stijn Waterman
Sound & Music: Sounds By Thomas
Title Design: Maria Wallnut
Camera: Cam a Lot
Light: Lux en Co
Light: Light Unit
Film lab: Onno Petersen
Photo lab: Foto Lab Amsterdam
Starring: Borre Akkersdijk
Presenter: Anthony Joseph
Model: Adian Buys
Locations:ByBorre
Massive Music Amsterdam
Adam Lookout
Eye Filmmuseum Amsterdam
Tennisclub IJburg
Cygnus College Amsterdam
Car: Toyota Louman Amsterdam
Klant: CreativeNL