A nuanced portrait of the (Amsterdam) police which portrays not only the police as an institution, but also individual officers. Issues raised include: ethnic profiling, lack of influence by neighbourhood officers, the role of women within the police force and the question of whether the police sometimes use excessive force, for example during the clearance of squats by the ME (Riot Police) in Amsterdam’s Kinkerbuurt neighbourhood, where defenceless locals were beaten by officers with batons.
Jul 1978
A documentary about Dutch shipbuilders and their work. Hundreds of jobs at shipyards are on the line and their craftsmanship is under threat. The labourers have to watch and stand by as their future becomes more and more uncertain.
The film presents regular Stadsjournaal actor Gerard Thoolen as a rebellious cyclist gallivanting around the streets of Amsterdam performing anarchic stunts on his bicycle. He clumsily cuts up cars, kicks their wingmirrors off, generally torments motorists and takes part in a bicycle race on his heavy ride. When his black gentleman’s bike gets stuck in the tram rails, he angrily grabs a pneumatic drill.
Jan 1979
In Surinamers in Nederland: De terugkeer van het zwarte goud, we see Surinamese people arriving in the Netherlands, unsure of what to expect, and being packed into overcrowded boarding houses. The government's idea is that they should then be integrated into society as quickly as possible. This was to be done by the Centraal Bureau Uitvoering Vestigingsbesluit Rijksgenoten, set up in 1974.