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A haunting exploration of Nazi occupation in Amsterdam intertwines with the chaos of a pandemic and protests.
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Our suggestions
The past collides with our precarious present in Academy Award winner Steve McQueen's bravura documentary Occupied City, informed by the book Atlas of an Occupied City (Amsterdam 1940-1945) written by Bianca Stigter. McQueen creates two interlocking portraits: a door-to-door excavation of the Nazi occupation that still haunts his adopted city, and a vivid journey through the last years of pandemic and protest. What emerges is both devastating and life-affirming, an expansive meditation on memory, time, and where we're headed.
"Occupied City is a documentary directed by acclaimed filmmaker Steve McQueen, known for Shame and 12 Years a Slave. Here, he embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the Nazi occupation that still haunts Amsterdam and a journey through the last years of the pandemic and protests. It’s a political and historical film that delves into traumas that span decades."