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