De Facto recommends

A conversation with Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran about her personal experience of exile, and the political realities shaping our present moment. With an installation by Studio Julian Hetzel, where the audience is invited to the imaginary Embassy of The Untitled States to experience a series of encounters with strangers. April 22, de Balie (Amsterdam, NL).

This spring, Museum Arnhem presents the exhibition Bakudengar (Listen to each other), in which personal stories, collective memories, and contemporary themes from the Indonesian archipelago and its diaspora come together. To be seen till September 20, 2026.

5 Broken Cameras is a personal testimony from a Palestinian father who spent five years filming the peaceful protests of his fellow villagers against the construction of an Israeli barrier wall. Go and watch this documentary classic and other films about human rights at the Movies that Matter festival in The Hague (NL) from 20-28 March.

In eastern Ukraine, the documentary Mariinka traces several young Ukrainians whose lives have been forever shaped by more than ten years of war and conflict in the Donbas region. The world premiere of this film by Pieter-Jan De Pue will be on March 10 during the CPH:DOX festival in Kopenhagen (Denmark).

We are very happy to announce that our theatre series ‘Off the Map’ is shortlisted for the ‘Meestervertellers’, the prize for narrative journalism by Stichting Verhalende Journalistiek (NL). The winner will be announced on April 14, but this nomination already gives us a great boost.

Picture this: 1 in every 70 people on earth is currently displaced due to conflict, war, or persecution. The International Film Festival Rotterdam - January 29th to February 8th - is showcasing five worldpremieres this year about the experience and emotions of displacement.

On January 22, photographer Rob Hornstra will talk with Giorgi Aronia from Abkhazia about European borders, visible and invisible. ‘Taferelen’ is a dinner & talk, organized by Fotodok in Utrecht (NL), connected to the exhibition Lost Territories: Tracing Imperial Violence.

De Facto was never as close to a border as this week: on November 12, we will travel to Maastricht (NL) for our newest edition of Off the Map. Art, science, stamps and a quiz - all about borders. Join us!

Films, exhibitions, workshops and outdoor activities: visit the Dutch Mountain Film Festival, from 4-9 November in the South of the Netherlands.

On October 8, De Facto will seek to create space between the lines that are drawn between Palestine and Israel. Jareach Gilula plays Arabic and Israeli music on her harp, seeking to emphasize what these groups share — even though this is becoming increasingly challenging. Furthermore, we will zoom in on the conflict between India and Pakistan, which recently flared up again. We will talk about this with Aletta André, former India correspondent. And: the story of Nutopia. Join us in MIMIK (Deventer).

220 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in less than 23 months. De Facto supports the campaign calling for the protection of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, the emergency evacuation of reporters seeking to leave the Strip, an end to impunity for Israeli crimes against Gaza’s reporters and that foreign press be granted independent access to the territory.

What is the true size of Africa? The ‘Correct The Map’ campaign revives the debate about the distorted Mercator projection and calls the world to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which reflects countries’ sizes more accurately.