Zeeland is van ons is a poetic arthouse drama about land, loss and the uneasy meaning of ownership in a changing landscape.
Marina, a farmer in Zeeuws Vlaanderen, is told that the land her family has worked for generations must make way for water and new nature. The next morning, the official behind the plan finds Marina and her sister occupying his office at city hall. Their message is simple: if we have to give up our land, you can give up your office.
What begins as an act of resistance gradually becomes something more intimate and mythical: a story about two sisters confronted with the possibility of losing not only their land, but a part of themselves.
Set against the watery landscape of Zeeland, the film explores the fragile boundary between holding on and letting go. As agriculture changes and nature, water, energy and industry all compete for space, Zeeland is van ons asks what it means to own a piece of the world, and whether we can surrender something without losing our connection to it.
Starring Barbara Kouwijzer, Monic Hendrickx, Ayrton Kirchner and Daphne Agten, the film is written by Wicher Schuurman and directed by Kees-Jan Mulder, with Godelieve Spaas as creative producer and researcher, Gerbert Floor as Director of Photography and with artwork from Kyra Sacks.
The film is also part of an artistic research project developed in collaboration with De Publieke Ontwerppraktijk (PONT) and HZ University of Applied Sciences. Fiction becomes a way of exploring questions that resist simple answers: Who decides what belongs to whom? What are we willing to give up for the future? And how do we continue to care for what we love?
Zeeland is van ons is supported by the Province of Zeeland and is expected to begin its festival journey in 2027.
MEDIA
Essay in Nederlands Dagblad
Provinciale ZeEuwse Courant (PZC) Interview
MEDIA
Essay in Nederlands Dagblad
Provinciale ZeEuwse Courant (PZC) Interview
