Set in the Netherlands, a country that has claimed much of its territory from the sea, Lowland Melodies, a Polder Western unpacks a sequence of moral tales regarding an environmentally vulnerable country facing complex issues, such as climate change, sea level rise, the subsequent societal polarisation, and their political (mis)management. Through a musical, tragicomic narrative set in the Western film genre, it establishes arcs between different scenes and characters each seeking to relate, in their own way, to sudden changes in territory, environment, and community in the landscape in which they live.
Alluding to complex infrastructures in place, and socio-bureaucratic power behind the struggles to escape an old system, the film deconstructs the national myth of the Netherlands as an ever-expanding entity, skillfully claimed over centuries from a hostile North Sea.
Lowland Melodies, a Polder Western
in progress, 2024-25
Written and Directed by
Pilar Mata Dupont and Erika Roux
Music Composition
Bergur Anderson
Producers
Estelle Levinson
Pilar Mata Dupont
Erika Roux
Main Cast
The Sea - The North Sea and the IJsselmeer
Horse - Banderas
Lone Wolf Janssen - Jesse Vlaarkamp
P - Simon Boer
K - Dawit de Koning
Etta Hooijmaaiers - Maria Brants
Jakob Hooijmaaiers - Skye Helfant
Claudette “Lonely Heart” Phillips (Karaoke singer) - Alexandra Phillips
Bar owner - Hasnaa Alaoui
Policeman - Bram Legerstee
Cassandra Morales - Helena Bittencourt
Laura Ponds - Petra Ball
Pepijn - Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk
First Assistant Director
Sophie Bates
Line Producer and Production Manager
Estelle Levinson
Third Assistant Director
Anna Łuczak
Production Assistants
Sander Mercier
Jaci Palm
The Man With No Fee
Víctor Santamarina
Cinematography
Stef van Wijk
B-roll, First Camera Assistant, and Bestboy
Ward Trommelen
Second Unit Cinematography
Marta Hryniuk
Binocular Footage
Víctor Santamarina
Gaffer
Marc Roodhart
Production Sound Mixer
Nick Thomas
Production Designer
Zino Bakker
Art Director
Pim Jongsma
Location Manager
Estelle Levinson
Costume Designer
Zino Bakker
Head Hair and Makeup
Robin Pels
Assistant Hair and Makeup
Varian Govers
Editors
Pilar Mata Dupont
Erika Roux
Sound Design and Mix
Jacco Prantl
Title Design
Rudy Guedj
Colourist
Marta Hryniuk
Horse Master
Ton Does at Media Horses International
Funders and Supporters
Made possible by Mondriaan Fonds, Gemeente Rotterdam, CBK Rotterdam, RADIUS Center for Contemporary Art and Ecology, Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst, Kunsthuis SYB, Het Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Ton Does and Media Horses International, and WET