Friday 04 November 2022 09.07 hours
CHERMONICOOG The documentary “The Caliph” by Thom Verheul van Schiermonnikoog was selected for the Milan Film Festival. The international sports documentary is about Dutch coach Richard Westrink. Verheul followed the trot coach for a year.
The film presents a unique portrayal of the 43-year-old Richard Westerneck, who races his best horses in France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States and Sweden, has already won several world titles and won millions of euros in cash prize.
Richard Westernek is based in France – the world’s top sporting country – and he’s causing a stir there with his 8-year-old Etonant. Westerink has already won over €2 million in prize money with the stallion.
Thom Verheul, a multi-award winning international film and documentary maker, has closely followed Richard Westerneck and his superhero Etonnant for over a year. This gave him a unique image of the international world of horse racing. Richard Westerneck travels all over the world to compete in the most famous races with his super horse, Etonant.
Millions are on the line, and Westerink and Etonnant witness all the highs and lows on and off the track. The international rollercoaster on which Westerink is located eventually drove Verheul through Paris to Stockholm. The World Sprint Championship (Elitloppet) was waiting there in May. In Sweden, Etonnant faced the impossible task of following in the footsteps of his illustrious father (Temoko), with whom Westerink had already won the world title twice in the past.
international attention
The documentary, lasting more than an hour, was selected for the 40th Milan International Festival in the 2022 Sports Film and Television category, The Great Champions. This is the final among 20 festivals around the world for the “World FICTS Challenge” for television. The selection is a great confirmation of the work of Verheul and his film team. The festival takes place from 9 to 13 November and is part of the Féderation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs. The film will be shown on Saturday 12 November at 12:30 pm in the Trafalgar room at the Hotel Admiral in Milan.
