MANUAL FOR THE DISPLACED
By Jeremy Flohr & Robin Block
Language: Dutch / Subtitles: English / Duration: 23 mins
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Winner of the Dutch Poetry Film Festival 2021, Weimar Poetry Film Award 2022
& Rome International Movie Award 2022
ENG (NL version below)
Manual for the Displaced is a short poetry film by poet and musician Robin Block and cinematographer Jeremy Flohr. Taking inspiration from their own roots in both the Netherlands and Indonesia, they examine one of the most universal questions of all: what does it take to truly feel at home?
The film’s theme of displacement and belonging deeply resonates with those that have a colonial family history, a migration background or an upbringing between different cultures. What is the impact of war, diaspora and personal stories of resilience? How can you develop a sense of identity and belonging that reaches beyond flags and nation states? Manual for the Displaced is a sensory work of art that gives words, sound, movement and images to these questions.
Many important stories about colonial history and the Second World War have been passed on orally from generation to generation. The consequences of this history are still present, but much of our knowledge about it is scarcely visible or underrepresented in the collective memory of this past. Manual for the Displaced is therefore intended as a project in which we, as the third generation, share the stories of the previous generations. It also reshapes them by adding new perspectives and linking them to present-day themes such as the integration debate and transnational identity. The film captures certain intangible aspects that you will not find in schoolbooks or the the glass display cases of museums.
For this reason Manual for the Displaced is a visceral, interdisciplinary film. It draws on five poems from Block’s poetry collection Handbook for the Displaced. Each of the five poems features a different artistic discipline and co-creation with both Dutch and Indonesian artists such as cellist and composer Alfian Emir Aditya, actor and performer Jamaluddin Latif, visual artist Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, cinematographer Dennis Annga, writer Dido Michielsen and dancer Melisa Diktas.
NL
Manual for the Displaced is een korte, muzikale poëziefilm van dichter/muzikant Robin Block en cinematograaf Jeremy Flohr. Geïnspireerd door hun eigen wortels in zowel Nederland als Indonesië, onderzoeken ze de meest universele vraag van allemaal: wat is ervoor nodig om je echt thuis te voelen? Het thema van de film, ontheemding en ‘belonging’, vindt diepe weerklank bij eenieder met een koloniale familiegeschiedenis, een migratieachtergrond of een opvoeding tussen verschillende culturen. Wat is de impact van oorlog, diaspora en persoonlijke verhalen over veerkracht? Hoe kun je een gevoel van identiteit en verbondenheid ontwikkelen dat verder gaat dan landen en vlaggen? Hoe geven we onze indentiteit vorm in het hier en nu? Manual for the Displaced is een zintuiglijk kunstwerk dat woorden, geluid, beeld en beweging geeft aan deze vragen.
