Willem Gerritsen (29) was born in The Hague and studied philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He started filming during his studies and liked it so much that within no time he founded his own film company. Without formal training, but very eagerly he created commercials, corporate films, TV programs, and videoclips – for artists like Postman and Di-rect. In 2008 Gerritsen directed a viral for Selmore (L.A.A.F.). It was so successful that from then on agencies started to approach him for virals too. This made him eventually split up in two directors: Willem Gerritsen & Gerrit Willemsen, making a clear cut between his TVC and internet work. Recently he made two virals as Willemsen for Hi-Tec (‘Liquid Mountaineering’) and TomTom (Star Wars). Today Gerritsen & Willemsen are represented by production agency CZAR throughout Europe. In Italy by Mercurio, in the UK by Passion Pictures Raw, and soon also in the US.

As a kid, what were your most creative moments?

As a kid I loved creating worlds and stories. Together with my brother, we used to record spoken stories on tape, while one of us would do the sound effects in the background. Other than that, my mother recently showed me a short film (about a poor family that won the lottery, AAB) I made when I was 8 years old and a music video when I was 10 years old, which I totally forgot about.

Which creative effort has given you the most satisfaction?

This year I directed a viral for Hi-Tec shoes (and agency CCCP, AAB) about some guys taking up running over water as a new extreme sport. It has 6.8 million viewers only on Youtube and has been noticed and discussed by Tv stations all over the world. ‘Liquid Mountaineering’ clubs popped up everywhere. It was great to see how something I created had such an impact on people all over the world. When we put the making-of online and revealed it was a hoax, many people were disappointed that the dream wasn’t true. Hopefully most people had a good laugh about it though!

What fascinates you?

Film has always fascinated me the most. It’s a like this orgasm of photography, theatre and music/sound all in one. Things I get inspiration from can be pieces of modern art or great photography. Like the work of Anders Petersen I saw in Stockholm this summer. I’m always grabbed by work that plays with reality and representation. Also in my own work, I always look for a certain amount of credibility, even if the presented situation isn’t realistic at all.

Who is your favourite creator?

There’s many of course, but Wes Anderson (Royal Tennenbaums, Fantastic mister Fox) is an all time winner for me. In commercials, Frank Budgen is truly amazing. I had no idea that all my favourite commercials (like Playstation ‘Double life’, Sony Bravia Play Doo, Xbox water Balloons, Guiness ‘Get on black’) were actually made by one guy. Another commercial I really appreciate – for its originality – is the Levi’s commercial ‘OPioneers!‘, created by W+K Portland and directed by M. Blash.

When did you decide, I want to work in advertising?

When I left high school I bought a camera and started shooting all kinds of little things experimenting with the film medium. Then I was offered to make a local commercial for the University of Amsterdam. When you’re making a commercial, the goal is (most of the time:) very well defined. As a director, this lets you really focus on the creative execution of the film. This is one of the reasons I really like making commercials.

What’s your most important lesson in advertising?

Show don’t tell. Meaning that you supposed to have your viewers come to the conclusion you want, without actually telling them what to believe. People don’t like to be told what to believe, they want to decide for themselves. The trick is to make them think they did.

What’s the most exciting ad project you ever worked on?

For the Allsecur ‘Jump’ film (for Ogilvy, AAB), we were shooting in Miami. We had about 10 stunt guys and two days to shoot 61 slates on 12 locations. Thank God the first AD was a former military sergeant. The line-producer thought we had lost our minds… In the end we managed to shoot all the stunts and scenes and more using two camera’s and having every shot set up before the DOP and I arrived on the every location.

What’s your favourite place in Amsterdam?

The Dam square. I practically live on it. The large amounts of different nationalities around me give me the feeling I’m a world citizen and part of this great big society of people.

What would you like to change in Amsterdam?

I would like to change that we kiss the cheeks three times, instead of two times. That third one is always so awkward! I would be happy to help shooting a campaign for this!