Tu ne verras pas Verapaz (2002)

Wie goat er mee noar Verapas? Doar moete wij niet wirke Eten en drenke op eu gemak, Sloape gelijk een virke (Who's coming to Verapas with us? There's no need to work there Just drink and eat if you want to And snooze like a pig.) This old song from Ghent refers to an unfamiliar part of Belgian history: the former Belgian colony in Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala. Leopold I 's goal was not only to exploit valuable resources, but also to reduce the crime level in Belgium. To achieve this, he inspired rich stock holders to start up the 'Company of Colonisation'. Propaganda was vital: the Company handed out exotic engravings, fake letters supposedly written by Belgian migrants praising Santo Tomas as a land of plenty and representing Guatemala as a promised land. An van. Dienderen and Didier Volckaert use this song as their starting point and look for the great-great-grandchildren of Belgian descendants in Guatemala. They bump into Belgian lions, originally shipped into Santo Tomas in 1843, Belgian descendants, some who do not quite know where Belgium is, and several urban legends about 'Verapaz'. As a poetic road movie, leading the audience from "de Muide", Ghent to Santo Tomas, Guatemala, the film's aim is to offer a personal exploration of the urge for the green grass over the hill, the 'el dorado'. It hints at abstract concepts such as cultural identity, nationalism, memory, paradise lost, diaspora narratives, and nostalgia.