Documentary ‘Portrait of a River’ with De Dommel

An American film crew made the impressive documentary ‘Portrait of a River’. Starring the Dommel and the Van Gogh National Park. The documentary is part of a series of documentaries about special rivers worldwide under the name ‘Rivers are Life’. After episodes about the Nile, the Mississippi, the Oder and the Kenai River, a starring role has now been reserved for our own Dommel.

The world premiere will be on May 7. The broadcast of the premiere can then be followed live online from 5:45 PM to 6:45 PM. You can watch the trailer at the bottom of this article.

“Amazing!” A cry that was heard regularly during the recordings for ‘Portrait of a River’ at the end of last year. The American director Graham Steele was very impressed by how we deal with the challenges of climate change, water quality in combination with economic growth. And he also saw the beauty of the Dommel. Just like the painter Vincent van Gogh did when he walked along the river in the region. Van Gogh’s work runs like a common thread through the documentary.

Impressive portrait

The American film crew spent two weeks on the banks of the Dommel. The result is an impressive portrait of the river. With beautiful interviews with people who are intensively involved every day in this blue, Brabant lifeline. We ended the recordings with a Dommel dinner at Vaderland. A very diverse group discussed one common challenge: strengthening the natural quality of the stream system in an economically growing region.

Dommel dinner

The initiator of the Dommel dinner is Lianne van Genugten. “We can follow nature much more in how we use and organize the land.” Lianne is the owner of Vaderland, a nature-inclusive farm and restaurant on the Dommel. She plays an important role in the documentary. She shows how farmers and nature can work together. “Together with De Dommel Water Board, we are creating a ‘wetland’ here. This wetland contributes to bringing nature and biodiversity into balance in this place. And bringing nature into balance helps enormously in bringing people into balance. .Something that seems more necessary than ever.”

Lifeline

Frank van den Eijnden is operational director of Van Gogh National Park: “The Dommel was a kind of lifeline for Vincent van Gogh. Just as it is now for the partners in Van Gogh National Park. Enhancing nature in and around our stream valleys forms the basis for a common approach. 70 partners already work together here. Only when we manage to strengthen that nature can the economy grow. The documentary makers have succeeded in making this clear in this short, compelling documentary.”

International attention

Erik de Ridder, water manager at the De Dommel water board, also has a leading role in the documentary. “We are very happy with this international attention for the Dommel. It is important that people realize how vulnerable our water system is. The Dommel flows through the most innovative square kilometer in the world. We must work together to realize all economic ambitions and our ambitions for the restoration of nature and biodiversity. This is very impressively depicted in this portrait of De Dommel.”

World premiere ‘Portrait of a river’

The premiere of the short documentary ‘Portrait of a river’ can be followed live online on May 7. The broadcast starts at 5:45 PM. Watergraaf Erik de Ridder, Frank van den Eijnden and Lianne van Genugten are guests in the studio. Director Graham Steele contributes from Beverly Hills. He talks about how he came up with the idea to make a documentary about the Dommel. The broadcast lasts until 6:45 PM.

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