The dark world of The Preacher

Psychological drama in which contrasts of light mirror the main character’s battle between good and evil.

	DP Theo Bierkens and Director Gerrard Verhage.

Dutch Director of Photography, Theo Bierkens BVK, NSC, set out to create an atmosphere between light and darkness... "A transition space" — in which the main character of The Preacher (De Dominee), Dutch mafia boss Klaas Bruinsma, is permanently standing in a tunnel leading to the underworld. "I wanted to visualise Bruinsma's life as being on the edge, between good and evil, so I worked with contrasts and played with light and darkness, moving in and out, shifting the light and placing him towards the light the light source moves away," he explains. "The most important element was to make his character, and those of his two companions, believable and exciting, which meant photographing them in an intense and layered way. They were young and beautiful, yet at a certain point they become very hard and tired."