“You can't move forward without looking back” was the starting point of 'Rotterdam 2040', the new film by Gyz La Rivière. In an energetic mix of facts, fiction and futurism, the artist sketches the highs and lows in the development of the city of Rotterdam.
'Rotterdam 2040' is not a factual documentary, but a film in which La Rivière (Rotterdam, 1976) presents his personal vision of the development of Rotterdam from before the bombing to the year 2040, 100 years after the bombing and the 700th anniversary of Rotterdam.
He argues for an explosive growth of residents in Rotterdam, shows that large parts of Rotterdam were not destroyed by the bombing but by our own hands, and examines old utopian ideas about the city of Rotterdam. With archive material, new images and La Rivière himself as voice-over, he manages to make every viewer fall in love with his favorite city in 95 minutes.
Book
The film is the second chapter of a long-term investigation into the history of Rotterdam. The preliminary study resulted in the book 'Rotterdam 2040', published in 2010.