location – de Bilt

Holland sometimes has four seasons in one day, remarked the 18th-century writer and philosopher Diderot. The weather and atmospheric conditions obviously affect the quality of the light, so the film also includes scenes shot at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, where we interviewed Günther Können. Diderot was evidently quite impressed by Holland: ‘Three hundred windmills regulate the water level. It’s an unnerving spectacle. The brackish water in the canals shows that seawater permeates the dikes, which are consequently always in danger. Yet the nation nevertheless sleeps unperturbed.’