When describing the Amsterdam depicted in his new project Still City, it’s as if Dutch director Menno Otten is writing in lower case, gently, without capitals. time seems to slow down. a sense of calm pervades 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 writes. “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,” he adds. “The unnoticed gestures that bind us across time. My hope is that Still City creates a space of stillness where, while watching strangers, viewers recognise something of themselves and, in that recognition, one another.”
Producer Renko Douze of Een van de jongens is equally 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 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 Sacrifice was screened September 26 in Utrecht to a closed audience as a proof of concept.
“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. “Funding is secured from multiple national and regional funds (Netherlands Film Fund, NPO Fund, AFK, Sound & Vision, VAF, VPRO), ensuring stability while keeping the artistic vision intact. This international framework not only strengthens financing but also ensures that the film will reach a wide range of audiences beyond the Netherlands.” Bantam is on board as Dutch distributor.
“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 recontextualised for many years,” Douze sums up to investors the potential longevity of Otten’s film.
