Menno Otten’s latest feature documentary was inspired by a psychosis he observed in his brother, and the sense of calm the man derived from obsessively watching people from his window, finding solace in their seemingly serene gazes.
“Months later, captivated by this gaze, I began exploring its fleeting moments of stillness on camera,” Otten writes. “This eventually became a collective stillness in my film Time Within Time. I did not yet know that this theme would shape my future work, but I continued exploring it in films such as The Sacrifice.”
“Now, with Still City, I take this idea further: bringing an entire city to a standstill through more than 125 years of filmed images. As a city symphony, the film explores our longing for stillness amid the chaos of life, revealing what lies behind these moments of quiet and the shared humanity that connects us.”
Producer Renko Douze of Een van de jongens is effusive about the project and director Otten’s ability to deliver it. “Its strength lies in Menno’s unique ability to transform archival images into something more than history: a shared human experience. He is, quite simply, a magician with archival material, able to find in the smallest glance or gesture a universal rhythm that binds people across decades. This rare quality ensures that the film speaks to anyone who has ever felt the pulse of a city.”
He also cites Otten’s previous archive film The Sacrifice – gleaned from official Olympic Games footage shot over many decades – which was never released due to rights restrictions, but whose one-time screening determined none other than Mike Leigh to hail it as “a terrific masterpiece.”
The 80-minute Still City is a work-in-progress with a mooted delivery of August 2027. Co-pro partners are Visualantics (Belgium), Box to Box (UK), with finances sourced from Netherlands Film Fund (NL), Sound & Vision (NL), NPO Fund (NL), Amsterdam Art Fund (NL), Film Production Incentive (NL) and VAF (Belgium). Dutch distribution will be handled by Bantam Film and Dutch broadcast rights went to VPRO.
“From a business perspective, Still City rests on a strong and balanced structure. We have experienced co-producers in the UK (Academy Award® winning producer James Gay-Rees) and Belgium (Steven Dhoedt),” says producer Douze. “This international framework not only strengthens financing but also ensures that the film will reach a wide range of audiences beyond the Netherlands.”
“Menno Otten has a unique gift for working with archive: he does not treat images as historical evidence, but as living material that can be rearranged to reveal something deeply human,” Douze further commends his director. “It is fascinating to watch how he works with almost monastic precision: studying gestures, rhythms, and emotions until fragments reveal unexpected resonances. His strength lies in transforming those hidden patterns into a cinematic flow that feels both intimate and universal. Where most archival films remain tied to context, Menno strips context away and in doing so creates space for recognition, connection, and poetry.”
Douze and his colleagues are aiming for a high-profile international premiere of the film, followed by a broad festival run and theatrical releases in the co-producing countries, and beyond. “Still City invites reflection on urban life at a time when cities are often framed by conflict and polarisation. We [also] see opportunities for curated screenings and partnerships with cultural institutions, art spaces and film festivals,” he adds. “In this sense, the work itself becomes impact: by slowing down and showing continuity, it reclaims a sense of shared ground that is easily forgotten in public debate.”
“And because the film is built entirely on archive, its lifespan will be longer than most contemporary documentaries: it can be revisited, re-screened and re-contextualised for many years,” Douze sums up to investors the potential longevity of Otten’s film.
Back in 2025, when describing the Amsterdam depicted in Still City, it was as if director Otten was writing in lower case, gently, without capitals. time seems to slow down, a sense of calm pervading all…
“I want to observe how individuals and collectives continually shape one another: a smile on a bench, a glance through a tram window, a crowd that swells from celebration to protest and then subsides into silence,” he said. “The aim is not to explain the city, but to let viewers feel its pulse.”
“Cities today are often described in the language of division or efficiency. Yet the archive shows another city, quieter but enduring,” Otten added. “The unnoticed gestures that bind us across time. My hope is that Still Citycreates a space of stillness where, while watching strangers, viewers recognise something of themselves and, in that recognition, one another.”
