Standby

synopsis

Claustrophobic war training as a gruelling routine, yet constantly permeated with terrifying tension. This is what training on the Louise-Marie NATO combat ship looks like in the documentary Standby. The observational film follows the crew of new and experienced sailors, as well as several female sailors, as they go through a series of simulated enemy attacks, lectures, evenings in the gym, and casual conversations over dinner. Everything is just for show, but it is clear from the many comments made by the commanding officers that the same situation could very soon arise in real life. The film does not have a central character, but focuses on several personalities, which it does not examine very closely as individuals; it is more interested in how they fit into the overall dynamics of the team. Concentrated in the space-time of a single war machine, the film seems to suggest that, despite all the military drill, it is impossible to fully prepare for real war – and this awareness is constantly present in the gestures and behaviour of the unit.

“I see a lot of people, a lot of faces that I know, but I see at least as many faces I don’t know, a lot of young people. A lot of experience and little experience, together, adds up to enough experience to do the very thing for which you’re here today.”

biography

Daphne van den Blink (b. 1985) is a Belgian director and graduate of the The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent (KASK) who has made several short documentary films. The best known of these, Papamagneet (2020), follows the son of a crew member of the ship Louise-Marie, which is the subject of the film Standby, while his father is on a long voyage.

film details

director:	Daphne van den Blink
producer:	Wouter Sap
photography:	Quinten Wyns
editing:	Febe Simoens
music:	Ruben De Gheselle
sound:	Calixte De Coster
sound design:	Thomas Vertongen

contact

Wouter Sap/Lionheart Productions
post@lionheart.be