Sea level rise is threatening countries everywhere. In The Netherlands, so well known for water management, the topic doesn't get the urgency it should. With the majority of the country being below sea level, the population historically relies on the government. The government, however, doesn't want to take unpopular decisions. The situation is becoming irreversible. One day we will have to give the land back to the water. Will my daughter still live where she lives today? Will she become the migrant of the future?
Hengelo aan Zee is the unsettling story of children living in different parts of the country. They were photographed and interviewed. The film was boiled in seawater before or soaked in saltwater after development. Other ingredients like the botanic residue of plants benefiting were mixed in during the process, making climate change a part of the physical photo.
Addendum: Hengelo aan Zee (Hengelo at Sea is a city far away from the coast in the east of the Netherlands)