Trefossa. Mi a no mi 2008

Directed by Ida Does

This documentary tells the story of the life of Surinamese poet Trefossa, pseudonym of Henny de Ziel (1916-1975), about the struggle for a Surinamese language of its own, Sranantongo. The poetry of Henri (nickname Henny) de Ziel, alias Trefossa, caused nothing less than an earthquake in Suriname. His words still roll off the lips of thousands of Surinamese schoolchildren every day when they sing the Surinamese national anthem at school in the morning. And even in the Netherlands, words can be heard on the street, such as bakra, switi, brasa, mi boy, duku, wagi, pata, smatje, fawaka, dyuka, of which it is questionable whether they would be heard so often here without Trefossa's involvement with Sranantongo.