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Cinematographic, contemplative and slightly humoristic portrait of a Rotterdam working-class district by the Meuse which is inundated by expensive apartments and office blocks. An area full of contrast.
In 2007, photographer Carel van Hees took four seasons to follow the colourful inhabitants of the two square kilometres of Rotterdam between the Kop van Zuid and the Afrikaanderwijk. Here, the city centre has crossed the Meuse and skyscratchers advance at the expense of an old working-class district. The makers call this area the Janus Face of Rotterdam, one face looking to the past, one to the future. Not surprisingly, the contrasts are huge: from a slick, large-scale call center where a cacophony of voices rings out, the film leaps to the owner of a jampacked and cluttered second-hand store, who keeps talking to his stoic partner, hoping for a reaction. We follow a junk who lives on a 520 euro benefit and we hear that the beautiful flats a little further down cost at least 640,000 euro. Van Hees refrains from any comments or interviews. He registers daily life in fixed shots and static frames, with a special eye to linguistic, visual and humoristic elements.

Title: 2KM2 - twee vierkante kilometer stad
Year: 2008
Duration : 1 hour, 19 minutes
Category: Long Documentary
Edition: NFF 2008

Gouden Kalf nominees

Beste Lange Documentaire (2008)
André van der Hout
Beste Lange Documentaire (2008)
Carel van Hees

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