Synopsis
The film centres on contested colonial monuments in Amsterdam and Jakarta (formerly Batavia) through conversations among three friends. As they delve deeper into the monuments’ archives, they do not realise that they are attempting to dismantle the dominant narrative by creating their own meanings.
Background
Van Heutsz was a governor-general in the late Dutch East Indies who was known as the pacifier of Aceh. Engaging with his archival material drove me to question dominant narratives. To address my doubts and seek counterarguments for an objective view, one approach was to ask the opinions of two close friends who reside in regions significant to Van Heutsz's legacy: Jakarta (formerly Batavia), where a major monument to him once stood, and Aceh, a territory central to his colonial campaigns. Unintentionally, by amplifying these "simplest native" voices (to borrow the phrasing of a Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië newspaper clip), we began challenging dominant historical narratives.
