Dick Harrewijn | SILENCE OF THE TIDES

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About This Project

THE FILM

SILENCE OF THE TIDES is a film for international cinema about the Unesco World Heritage Site, the Wadden Sea, one of the largest wetlands, tidal and coastal systems in the world.

SILENCE OF THE TIDES is a cinematic portrait that is driven by the continuous ‘breathing’ of the Wadden, an area anchored amongst continuous tensions against a backdrop of light, mist, wind, water and land.

SILENCE OF THE TIDES is a film without voice-over, interviews or testimonials. There are only images, natural sounds and associative editing. SILENCE OF THE TIDES is a film that breathes in and out and gives the audience the opportunity to draw their own conclusions.

Synopsis

Silence of the Tides is a cinematic tribute to the Wadden Sea,
the world’s largest, and most varied, uninterrupted intertidal area, extending along the coasts of The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.

It’s a hypnotizing large screen look into the cycles and contrasts of the seasons: life and death, storm and silence, the masses and the individual. All set against a larger than life backdrop of sky, water, wind, mist and constantly changing light.

The film plays witness to the rough, yet fragile relationship between man and nature as it pulsates with the inhaling and exhaling of the tides.

With his observational style and eye for detail, Director Pieter-Rim de Kroon presents the Wadden region as one massive, living breathing organism, where all the elements interlock, influenced by the position of the Moon and Sun, and the magical energy from the Cosmos.

The Wadden

The Wadden Sea is the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world. It’s one of the last remaining large-scale, intertidal ecosystems where natural processes continue to function largely undisturbed. It’s an annual breeding and wintering ground for 12 to 15 million birds and home to numerous plant and animal species.

The site covers the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area, the German Wadden Sea National Park and most of the Danish Wadden maritime conservation area, all in a stretch of about 500 kilometres long and on average 20 kilometres wide.

The 43 inhabited and uninhabited Wadden islands together occupy more than 1000 square kilometres and are home to around 80,000 people. The biggest islands are the Dutch Texel, the German Sylt and the Danish Rømø.

Breathing

Silence of the Tides is a film that breathes, making the awareness of oxygen almost tangible. This breathing is intrinsic to the unique dynamic of the Wadden and its surroundings. The inhaling and exhaling of the tides acting under the influence of the moon and sun. Breathing in and breathing out again and again.

Contrasts

Silence of the Tides is also a film about contrasts. The contrast between the dizzying silence, amplified by a distant chirp of a bird, and the deafening roar of a powerful thunderstorm. Or the peace and quiet of the salt marshes contrasting with the loud and massive assault of thousands of grey geese, who occupy and strip the land.

There are moments when the horizon is invisible, hidden behind a wave; and moments when it’s a strict division of air, land and water. There are primordial landscapes where time hasn’t yet begun and there are surrealistic, industrial constructions on the shores of the river Eems.

Cycles

The film cinematographically shows the endless cycles of the Wadden Islands. The sun and moon, the four seasons, where plants and flowers grow and wither, and the migration of millions of birds who return and depart every year. Repetitive processes like the yearly bird migration, , the invasion of tourists that massively come and go every summer, the ever repeating tidal process on the salt marshes and seasonal cycles of colour changes that continue year after year.

Production info

Silence of the Tides is shot in 2017, 2018 and 2019 in The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
Technique: Full frame 6K Cine Alta Venice camera system and Sigma cine prime lenses.

Release: 4K DCP large screen. 1:2.39 and Dolby Atmos sound in selected theatres