Born in Holten, Holland. The most original and best known of the postwar Dutch filmmakers, he began making amateur films as a young boy but earned his living as a painter and press photographer before directing his first professional short at the age of 33. However, once he broke through, he rose quickly to prominence. His second short, MIRROR OF HOLLAND (1950), which he filmed himself, won the Grand Prix for documentaries at the Cannes Festival, and his subsequent efforts reaped awards of merit at an amazing rate. He received no fewer than 20 prizes for his short GLASS and by 1970 had collected more than 50 international awards for his films. He made several documentaries on art and many shorts for the Royal Dutch-Shell film unit. His few stabs at feature films have been less successful than his celebrated documentary shorts. Father of editor-director Rimko Haanstra and composer-songwriter Jurre Haanstra. Visit the Internet Movie Database for a listing of Haanstra's writing, directing and producing credits.  Documentary (Shorts) 1959: GLASS - Producer  Nominated for Documentary (Features) 1964: THE HUMAN DUTCH - Producer  Nominated for Documentary (Features) 1972: APE AND SUPER APE - Producer 3 nominations, 1 Award