research & publishing
hidden histories
Being Part European
Across Europe, there are numerous hidden depots, closed to the public, that hold hundreds of thousands of objects, stolen from former colonised lands and peoples. Being Part European is the first film to reveal one of these depots. Situated in a location that remained classified until nov 22, 2024, this depot holds over 450.000 ancestral objects, most of them looted by Dutch colonizers. Guided by the words of the Fijian poet Sam Simpson, written in 1974, this film attempts to give a voice to the objects kept on Dutch soil. Unable to be honoured, ritualised, and commemorated by the descendants to which these objects once belonged.
50 years after it was written, the poem guides us through the corridors and shelves of the depot, where a vast collection of colonial objects still await not only their return to ancestral lands, but also their revelation and (a)liveness.
Being Part European is made in collaboration with Studio Airport and supported by the Mondriaan Fund.
Being Part European, 2024 (14 min)
Director: Mirelle van Tulder
Co-director: Bram Broerse
Cinematographer: Luuk de Kok
Production: Mirelle van Tulder & Studio Airport
Editor: Bram Broerse
First voice: Colin Salmon
Second voice: Rupa Krishnan
Third voice: Anita Loshmanova
Music & Sound Design: Julian Tjon Sack Kie
Sound Editing Anita Loshmanova: Philippe Abdoulaye Ndiaye
Graphic Design: Carsten Pölking & Johanna Gschwandtl
Production Assistants: Anže Petelinšek & Johanna Gschwandtl
Depot Management: Ester de Bruin & Harm Linsen