Ettie Hillesom as a guide
Doku • Author Judith Kollemegger worked for years on a biography of the Jewish writer Etty Hillesum, who was murdered in Auschwitz. She conducted in-depth research for the book. During this period, Judith lost both of her parents: her mother developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and her father died shortly after her mother. Judith explains how these events affected her life and what Etty’s statements meant to her during this time. I learned from Etty: “You can’t do anything about circumstances, but how you deal with them is your freedom, and that’s a choice.” See also “Providing Shelter for the World’s Suffering” on Kerknet.
• Wonder, Sunday
The grave is in their hands
Doku • Aldith Hunkar travels through the Low Countries and sheds new light on the cultural past and present. What are the stories behind our heritage, what have we learned about our history and culture, and how do the lessons of the past influence our choices for the future? This episode focuses on Roermond in Limburg Dutch. In addition to the Oude Kerkhof, with its famous “grave with hands”, recordings were made in the Kruiswegpark, the chapel in ‘t Zand, and the Galgenberg in the Kapellerkwartier.
• Verma Erfgood, Sunday 26 November 2023, 5:45pm – 6:15pm, NPO2
The story behind our clothes
Doku • Clothes, clothes and more clothes. We love it. Petra Grijzen delves into the world of fast fashion. Why do we have and want so many clothes? What are the consequences? Roberto Luis Martins, curator at the Amsterdam Museum, manages a collection of clothing from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. What does it look like? The Industrial Revolution dramatically increased the volume and speed of production, but all at the expense of quality. In the middle of a shopping street, behavioral scientist Rent-Jan Rennes talks about what a shopping street does to a consumer’s mind. But there are also more and more sustainable textiles.
Miracle No. 71
Doku • A repeat of the three-part human interest series about filmmaker and multiple sclerosis patient Natalie Bastens, who has been confined to a wheelchair for eight years and wants to be able to walk again. She dreams of a miracle and Nathalie goes in search of it with photographer Liv Blanquiart and constant nurse Gustave Decomigny. In Lourdes, the Catholic Church recognized 70 miracles. Natalie wants to be able to write the number 71 in her name.
In Episode 1, Nathalie prepares for her trip to Lourdes. She has to undergo a medical examination and undergo a scanner at the MS clinic in Belt and explain her destination to the neurologist Dr. Popescu. You will then light a candle in the Grotto of Lourdes in Ostaker, where the eighth miracle of Lourdes occurred. She also had a conversation with theologian Hans Gebels, who has his own “Museum of Miracles” in Scherpenhofel. You then head to the Dutch Brain Bank in Amsterdam where pioneering MS research is being conducted on donated brains. She attends a lecture on “The Possibility of a Miracle” by the philosopher of science Jean-Paul Van Bendeghem. Natalie then says goodbye to her loved ones and departs on a road trip with her two traveling companions, photographer Liv Blanquiart and nurse Gustave Decomion.
• Miracle No. 71, Thursday, November 30, 2023, 9:35 PM – 10:20 PM, VRT 1
Where does racism come from?
Doku • This documentary explores the origins of racism in the United States. Inspired by the best-selling book by American human rights activist, Ibrahim X. Kennedy. Watch the trailer below.
• Stamped from the Beginning, now on Netflix
