EPISODE OF THE SEA

participatory documentary by Lonnie van Brummelen & Siebren de Haan i.c.w. the fishing community Urk. 35mm film transferred to DCP, 63 min., 2014

The film Episode of the Sea is the outcome of a two-year collaboration of the artists and the fishing community of Urk, a former island in the Netherlands. In the previous century, the Dutch closed off and drained their inland sea to reclaim new arable land. The island of Urk, situated in mid sea, suddenly found itself embraced by land. Its inhabitants were expected to switch from fishing to farming, but the fishermen  found new fishing grounds, far out in the North Sea and continued their trade.

Despite being part of the mainland for decades, the fishing village is still reputably insular and its inhabitants speak in their own tongue. With a residency and numerous visits the artists gradually gained the Urker’s trust. Between 2011 and 2013, they documented the sites and work of fishing and filmed a dozen of staged scenes performed by members of the fishing community themselves in their local dialect, while keeping a log book of their encounters and experiences in situ. Episode of the Sea brings these diverse materials together.

The film documents the material world of contemporary North Sea fishery and the fishermen’s struggle with a changed public perception, fluctuating regulation, and excessive global competition, while parallels are drawn between fishing and filming. Rendered in black- and-white the film recites neo-realist drama and early documentary styles, evoking a way of life that has been passed on by ancestors and is about to disappear.

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