Gerlach

Under the smoke of Schiphol Airport, arable farmer Gerlach van Beinum works, and he has been doing so for 60 years. In all those years, he has seen everything around him change. His wooden house was once free-standing, but now it is sandwiched between a large petrol station, a fast-food restaurant and several distribution centres. But with as much dedication as ever, he takes care of his beets and grain. However, this is no longer easy; not only does his health leave much to be desired, but there are property developers preying on his land, not to mention how climate change is disrupting his harvest. But Gerlach gets through it all with plenty of humour and perspective, helped by his brothers and friends.

"Everything eventually disappears," Gerlach says somewhere in the film. Transience is therefore the main theme in this portrait of a farmer who does things differently. Filmmakers Aliona van der Horst (Liefde is aardappelen) and Luuk Bouwman (Allen tegen allen) paint it with love and humour.