Axel Roks; a portrait of a bass builder

Netherlands

A portrait of luthier Axel Roks, who builds custom bass guitars out of his garage in Breda. In this documentary short, shot in just 5 hours, we get an insight into a world thats all about craftsmanship and a great passion for music.

When first meeting Axel, I found that he was very zen in the way he thinks about building bass guitars. Hes not a fan of using big machinery and he therefore works with traditional tools. To me, this seems almost like a Buddhist approach to making an instrument. That resonated with me and I wanted the film to have that same vibe. Calm and understated, focussed on the essentials and taking its time.