Indonesian Winter Kumpulan

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A convivial gathering where you can sample Indonesian delicacies while listening to talk of Indonesian literature.

A special programme to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the festival, which was launched in 1995 under the name Indonesian Winternacht. Kumpulan refers to the typical Indonesian "coming together, getting together" with family, friends, and others. Performing writers Karin Amatmoekrim, Reggie Baay, Adriaan van Dis, Gustaaf Peek, and Dinar Rahayu (Indonesia) will talk about moments of Indonesian togetherness
inspired by an object, photo, music clip, or story. We also look forward to the contribution of young Belgian graphic novelist Michael Olbrechts, whose debut De allerlaatste tijger (The Very Last Tiger) draws on the history of his great-grandmother in Java. This cheerful evening is hosted by actresses Bodil de la Parra and Nadja Hüpscher, who toured with the hit play Ouwe pinda's (Old Peanuts). Toko Zwijndrecht will cater Indonesian treats during the intermission, and Anna Montan and Patrick Lauwerends will set the mood with jazzy kroncong. Aduh, such fun!

Information

Date and time Saturday 17 January 2015 from 11:00 to 14:00 hrs
Location Theater aan het Spui - foyer

Line-up

Gustaaf Peek

(The Netherlands, 1975) is a writer of novels, poems, stories, essays, and screenplays. His work is characterized by the compelling way in which he brings characters involved in historical injustices to life. His debut novel Armin (2008) is about children adrift after World War II. In Ik was Amerika (I Was America, 2010), a Dutch prisoner of war in World War II befriends a farm worker in a camp in the US. Decades later, he seeks him out again. Peek received the BNG Literature Prize and the F. Bordewijk Prize for this work. Godin, held (Goddess, Hero, 2014) is a candid novel about the mysterious and all-too-human nature of love. In his pamphlet Verzet! Pleidooi voor communisme (Resistance! A Plea for Communism, 2015), he undermines decades of capitalist indoctrination. His novel A.D. (2021) tells about the events and hardships aboard one of the first seaships in the 16th century to present-day Indonesia and the arrival there. In 2025, his poetry collection Orang/oetan was published.
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Reggie Baay

(Netherlands, 1955) won much praise for his books about the njai, women in the Dutch East Indies who lived in concubinage and had children with Dutch men. He debuted in 2006 with the semi-autobiographical novel De ogen van Solo (Solo’s Eyes), dealing with the rootlessness of people from the Dutch East Indies. Gebleekte ziel (Bleached Soul, 2012) is a novel based on historical fact about the son of a Balinese nobleman sent to the Netherlands to be "bleached", to erase his indigenous identity. Daar werd wat gruwelijks verricht (Something Horrible Happened There) is a non-fiction book about the unknown history of slavery in the Dutch East Indies. In 2018 he published the documentary novel Het kind met Japanse ogen (The Child with Japanese Eyes), a personal quest and historical investigation into the life of his father.
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Adriaan van Dis

(The Netherlands, 1946) grew up in a family with a past in the Dutch East Indies. He draws on these experiences in several of his works such as My Father's War (1995), Repatriated (2002) and in Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen (2023). Van Dis became well known via his literary television programme Here is... Adriaan van Dis (1983-1992). In addition to novels he has written novellas, travelogues, essays and plays. He presented TV documentary series and his podcast Van Dis Ongefilterd. He has received the Constantijn Huygens Award for his entire body of work. Recent publications are the collection Vijf vrolijke verhalen (2021), the novel KliFi, woede in de republiek Nederland (2022) and the essay De kolonie mept terug: over witte arrogantie en voortschrijdend inzicht: een denkoefening en leesreis (2024). During the Writers Unlimited Festival 2026, Van Dis will be the main interview guest on Saturday afternoon, 24 January, following the publication of his new book Alles voor de reis (Everything for the Journey), and on Sunday morning, 25 January, he and interviewer Simon Dikker Hupkes will record a new episode of his podcast series Van Dis Ongefilterd (Van Dis Unfiltered) live with an audience.

Go to website of Adriaan van Dis
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Karin Amatmoekrim

(Suriname, 1976) debuted with Knipperleven (2004), followed by Wanneer wij samen zijn (When We Are Together, 2006), based on the history of her Javanese-Surinamese family. Her novel Het gym (The Gymnasium, 2011) describes Sandra, a Surinamese outsider, holding her own among preppy white girls. De man van veel (The Man of Much, 2013) is based on the life of the Surinamese national hero and writer Anton de Kom, and was followed by her memoir Tenzij de vader (Unless the Father, 2016), a painfully honest report of getting to know her father at age 22. Her PhD thesis on the late author Anil Ramdas (University of Utrecht) was published as the biography In welk land leef ik eigenlijk? (What Kind of Country Do I Actually Live in?, 2023). She regularly publishes stories, columns and opinion pieces.
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Nadja Hüpscher

(Nijmegen, 1972) acted in the film Hufters & hofdames (Louts & Ladies) by Eddy Terstall during her Cultural Management studies. It didn't go unnoticed. She was in demand for various film roles and in 1999 won a Golden Calf Award (the Dutch Oscar) for her role in De Boekverfilming (The Adaptation). Nine years later she was again nominated for a Golden Calf. Hüpscher worked as an assistant director before she went on to direct her own work. In 2013 In het wild (In the Wild) was published, a collection of dialogue she heard on the street and took down for Het Parool newspaper. These are poetic, hilarious, and sometimes melancholy conversations about relationships, love, sorrow, family, and work. In 2014 she and Bodil de la Parra toured through the Netherlands with the successful play Ouwe pinda's (Old Peanuts), in which the two actresses went looking for their Indonesian roots. Their theatrical journey took them to contemporary Holland via ancient China and Indonesia. She is currently writing a new show with the working title Gratis in je hol (In Your Cave for Free).
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Bodil de la Parra

(Amsterdam, 1963) writes for theatre and television and is an actress. In 2014 she toured the Netherlands together with Nadja Hüpscher with the successful show Ouwe pinda's (Old Peanuts), in which the two actresses seek out their Indonesian roots. Their theatrical journey takes us to today's Holland via ancient China and Indonesia. Bodil studied at the Cabaret Academy and Theatre School and worked with various companies. She created a numer of successful theatre pieces such as Hagedissenhuid (Lizard Skin), performed by the Orkater Theatre Group and featuring Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Porgy Franssen, and others. She also wrote various TV dramas and acted in several TV series. Her play Onder Vrouwen/Over Mannen (Among Women/About Men) premiered in Paramaribo in 2011. The male point of view, Onder Mannen Suriname (Among Surinamese Men), followed in 2014. Recurring themes in her work include inescapable family ties and long friendships, as well as decay, loss, failure, and homesickness. Her work is universally applicable and always contains a big dash of humour.
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Michaël Olbrechts

(Belgium, 1987) received the Silvester Strips Debut Award for his book De allerlaatste tijger (The Very Last Tiger) in 2014. Olbrechts draws and tells stories with panache and attention to detail; his work is bright, lively, expressive, and funny. He studied history in Leuven and then cartooning in Brussels. A Belgian of Indonesian background, he based his thesis project, De allerlaatste tijger, on family history. It is about a young family going to visit grandma on a hot summer's day in 1996. As they drive to her assisted-living flat in Oosterbeek, the father tells stories about grandma's youth. He takes the children to a villa in the jungles of Java at the beginning of the 20th century. With his use of colour and narrative style, Olbrechts highlights the contrast between the happy family and grandma's harrowing experiences in the Dutch East Indies. His work combines the carefree world of the classic Franco-Belgian school with the expressiveness of modern Flemish graphic art.

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Dinar Rahayu

(Indonesia, 1971) studied chemistry, mathematics, and physics at the Technical Institute in Bandung. Her novel Ode aan Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch (Ode to Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch) created quite a stir. As of page one, it's an explicit book full of strippers, child rape, and S&M. Some consider this book by the now-traditionally dressed Muslim woman to be pornography, although it also incorporates Greek and Nordic myths. In 2009 Rahayu published a collection of short stories, Lacrimosa, which combine ancient myths with science and technology. Her stories have also appeared in various Indonesian magazines. She works as a teacher.
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Patrick Lauwerends

(Suriname) grew up in Paramaribo, where he became familiar with a wide variety of musical styles. Around 1980, after his studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory, he followed his passion for music as a bass player and, for years, graced stages at home and abroad. His mentor, master contra-bassist James Long, introduced him to the world of jazz. Lauwerends' work as an arranger/composer is characterised by the way in which he combines elements of traditional music and modern jazz, such as can be heard on the CD Cinta by singer Anna Montan, and in his kaseko-jazz project Adyakasa.
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Anna Montan

grew up with the sounds of the violin and the 78 rpm records of her Indonesian grandfather. At first she performed as a singer and percussionist in pop, soul, and salsa bands. Gradually she revealed herself as a jazz singer with a classically trained voice. Her desire to experiment and her Indian background led to her 2011 album Cinta, a dynamic mix of East and West that braids Western jazz and Indonesian keroncong. Since 2004 Anna Montan has been working together with Surinamese bassist Patrick Lauwerends.



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