Thursday 15 January
Ventilator Cinema // 20:00 // € 5
Amsterdams Stadsjournaal – activist films 1974 – 1984
https://amsterdamalternative.nl/tickets/20072
Genre: Film screening and Q&A
Line up: Barbara den Uyl, Annette Apon
Open: 20:00 - 23:00 hrs
Tickets: € 5 / €2,50 (met Stadspas)

Amsterdam Alternative x Amsterdams Stadsarchief present this evening two Amsterdam Stadsjournaal films and the filmmakers Barbara den Uyl and Annette Apon. After the films they will talk with the audience about the films.

The Amsterdams Stadsjournaal (ASJ) was a film collective active from 1974 to 1984 that made 36 activist films about social injustices such as housing shortage, working conditions and social inequality. The films were intended to inform and activate, not to entertain. They were often screened outside regular cinemas and aimed at specific target groups such as workers, schoolchildren and migrants. Together with these groups the ASJ analyzed problems and made films to encourage them to take action. Accompaniment, such as introductions and discussions, was an essential part of the screenings.

From 11 October 2025 to 8 March 2026 the Stadsarchief Amsterdam organizes an exhibition about the ASJ, with film fragments, photos and archive materials. During this period many films will also be screened. Eye Filmmuseum digitizes and restores the films. The exhibition closes with work by contemporary collectives such as OT301, De Transketeers and Verdedig Noord. These organizations combine art, activism and diversity to promote social change.

Films:

ASJ 28 - Chaos in de rechtsstaat (Barbara den Uyl) 1981, color (61 min)
In the 1980s Amsterdam experienced social unrest due to severe housing shortage, which led to the rise of the squatting movement. This movement, begun as a solution to vacancy, grew into a conflict between squatters, property owners and the government, which responded forcefully. Barbara den Uyl's documentary Chaos in de rechtsstaat offers an intimate view of the squatting movement through Huize Chaos, a squatted building on the Sarphatistraat. It shows the daily life of young residents and their confrontations with police, riot police and political pressure. The film is the first part of a triptych, followed by Waar de ratten koning zijn (1985) and In naam der wet (1987), about the death of squatter Hans Kok. Cameraman Theo van de Sande delivered impressive work, for which he received multiple Golden Calves. The documentary sketches a powerful image of a turbulent period in Amsterdam.

ASJ 23 - Politiewerk (Annette Apon & Barbara den Uyl) 1979, color (45 min)
Filmmaker Barbara den Uyl’s first two films, Politiewerk and Chaos in de rechtsstaat, address themes such as civil protest and the limits of the rule of law. Politiewerk, made with Annette Apon, offers a layered portrait of the Amsterdam police, with attention to ethnic profiling, neighborhood officers, women in the police and police violence, such as during evictions in the Kinkerbuurt. The film criticizes the influence of the ruling class on the police and uses ironic music and humorous scenes to reinforce its message.