Upcoming events

De Facto Filmweekend #1

Off the Map Vlieland

20 February 2026

Podium Vlieland

Weekend filmfestival, from Friday 20th of February to Sunday 22nd 2026

Tickets

Who is going on a trip with us? Off the Map is teaming up with Podium Vlieland, the cutest filmtheater on the island Vlieland, in the north of the Netherlands to organize a film-weekend. Through films, we will travel to unrecognized countries, micronations, disputed border areas, and other geographical oddities. And beyond the news and geopolitics, we explore wondrous places and captivating human stories. For three days, you'll travel around the globe without having to leave your comfy cinema seat, exploring features, documentaries, lectures, presentations, and a lively quiz. Of course there will also be time to go for walks on the beach and to go explore the island by bike. The program will be in Dutch.

DE FACTO is a project of graphic designer Floor Koomen, journalist Jorie Horsthuis and researcher Suzanne Hendriks. This event is supported by Fonds BJP and BNG Cultuurfonds.

De Facto On Tour #1

Off the Map Nijmegen

24 March 2026

LUX, Nijmegen

Bar open all day, start programme 20.30. Programme in Dutch

Tickets

Which maps and atlases deserve to be retired? With Free the Map, border professor Henk van Houtum has written a fiery argument about how we need to tilt our worldview and break free from those lines and arrows on maps. Tonight, he will give a mini-lecture that will change the way you look at maps for ever. Journalist Jorie Horsthuis takes us back to a forgotten conflict and Jareach Gilula plays Arabic and Israeli music on her harp, trying to bring these groups closer together — although this is increasingly challenging. Graphic designer Floor Koomen zooms in on postage stamps where geopolitics is being played out down to the last square centimeter. Her talk will explain why so many fake islands are rising in the South China Sea. There's also a nerdy quiz by researcher Suzanne Hendriks where flag-waving is allowed.

DE FACTO is a project of graphic designer Floor Koomen, journalist Jorie Horsthuis and researcher Suzanne Hendriks. This event is supported by Fonds BJP and BNG Cultuurfonds.

De Facto Van de Kaart Maastricht #2

On Tour

1 April 2026

Theater AINSI, Maastricht

Bar open 19.30, start programme 20.30. Program in Dutch.

Tickets

You may have heard that the triple border near Vaals was once a quadripoints. That's not an April Fool's joke, but history. Historian and writer Philip Dröge joins this edition of Off the Map to talk about Moresnet, the tiny country that existed last century on the border of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. This angular land provided space for a kind of free state where people saw opportunities, from Esperantists to traders. Guitarist Daan Soenens comes from Belgium to share his philosophical and musical experiment: what would Moresnet's music have sounded like if the country had never ceased to exist? Journalist Jorie Horsthuis zooms in on a forgotten border conflict, and graphic designer Floor Koomen takes us to NUTOPIA, a micronation founded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. There's also a nerdy quiz by researcher Suzanne Hendriks where you're allowed to wave flags.

De Facto Van de Kaart Amsterdam #1

On Tour

8 April 2026

Theater De Richel, Amsterdam

Bar open 19.30, start programme 20.00. Program in Dutch

Tickets

We're back in Amsterdam on April 8th, 2026, in Theater De Richel no less. We'll host documentary photographer Rachel Corner, known for her podcast "The Promised Forest," who will talk with journalist Jorie Horsthuis about how trees are used to shift borders in Palestine. Music is provided by Ukrainian Alex Tugushin, sound engineer for travel series about conflict zones. He reflects on the invasion of Ukraine and shares his experiences. How did the war change his life? Journalist Jorie Horsthuis zooms in on a forgotten border conflict, and graphic designer Floor Koomen takes us to Nutopia, a micronation founded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Imagine, there's no country! There's also a nerdy quiz by researcher Suzanne Hendriks where flags are allowed to be waved.

DE FACTO is a project of graphic designer Floor Koomen and journalist Jorie Horsthuis. This event is supported by Fonds Bijzondere Journalistieke Projecten, BNG Cultuurfonds en het Stimuleringsfonds voor de Journalistiek.

Previous events

Past event

The second edition of Off the Map in The Hague

With music from the choir Slavuj singing songs from the Balkan and the Black Sea area, where borders still scar the surface and Dutch-Kurdish filmmaker Reber Dosky about his work in Kurdistan. Of course also with graphic designer Floor Koomen with a talk about the United Koreans, a quiz by Suzanne Hendriks and moderation by Jorie Horsthuis.

Suzanne Hendriks | 14 May 2025