Art
Juul Hondius in collaboration with Montaser Alsabe & Abed Hussein
Tidal Settlers - night
Tidal Settlers depicts the conditions of people moving through indefinite landscapes shaped not only by natural forces, but also by political choices. The ground beneath their feet is temporary, the horizon unclear, and movement itself becomes a form of survival.
In five film projections, a journey unfolds through water, sand, and mud. In a fragile balance with nature, the main characters navigate a hostile environment that makes them structurally unsafe. The images bear traces of climate change, rising sea levels, and displacement, showing migration as its most urgent consequence.
About the makers:
In his images and stories, Juul Hondius balances between documentation and construction. Photography and film become tools for suggestion, staging, and controlled ambiguity. What appears to be news footage or historical archival material is usually directed. Not to deceive, but to create awareness about how visual language guides our beliefs, feelings, and thoughts.
His characters move in an environment where the authentic and the staged constantly alternate. As a result, the images do not reveal their meaning immediately, evoking a range of emotions in the viewer.
For this work, he worked closely with Montaser Alsabe and Abed Hussein, who were key creative partners in the development. Montaser and Abed previously worked as filmmakers and directors of the Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival in Gaza: a festival where film was central to promoting social justice and human rights awareness.
The art program was made possible with a contribution from the Mondriaan Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, and De Versterking. This work was co-funded by the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, the Mondriaan Fund, and the Netherlands Film Fund.
Cast: Abed Hussein, Linhuei Chen, Sim Tesfai, Yi Fei Chen, Ehab Youssef. Cinematography: Matija Pekić.
Production assistants: Kaitlyn Smeeth & Rogier Alleblas.
Editors: Juul Hondius & Tim Straver.
Gaffer & drone: Lawrence Lee.
Sound recording: Andrés Garcia Vidal.
Re-Recording Mix: Driftwood Audio.
Additional sound design: Dennis Sanders.
Casting: Buddyfilm.
Skipper: Olav Stig.
Scenario advisors: Montaser Alsabe & Abed Hussein.
Director: Juul Hondius.
