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In 1977, the children and teachers of an elementary school in Drenthe were taken hostage by Moluccans. Thirty years later, the victims talk about the impact of this traumatic event on their lives.
On 23 May 1977, 105 children and five teachers of an elementary school in the Drenthe village of Bovensmilde were taken hostage by a group of South-Moluccans. They wanted to force the government to keep the promises about their own, independent state (RMS). After the hijacking was ended, the school building was immediately demolished. What remained was a bare stretch of grass: a silent witness to the tragic event that, even thirty years later, symbolises a torn village. John Appel introduces the former principal, some fifth grade pupils and their parents, who talk about their inability to straighten out the past. A former pupil confesses: ‘The moment something like this happens, your childhood is over.’ Personal outpourings alternate with poignant archive footage and interviews from 1977.

Credits

Director
Co-producer
Executive producer
Sound editing
Production company
IDTV Docs
TV company
Human TV

Title: De lege plek
Year: 2012
Duration : 59 minutes
Category: Short Documentary
Edition: NFF 2012

Geschiedenis

NFF Archive

You are now in the NFF Archive. The archive contains contains information on film, TV and interactive productions that were screened at past festival editions. The NFF does not dispose of this material. For this, please contact the producer, distributor or broadcaster. Sometimes, older films can also be found at the Eye Film Museum or the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.