The Zuilen district of Utrecht was long seen as the problem area of the city. Crime and discrimination left their mark on the grey and poverty-stricken area. In the summer of 1995 filmmaker Esther Pennarts moved to Zuilen and her first experiences were far from pleasant: junkies, dealers, arson attacks and youths hanging around helped shape a frightening environment. In De lange adem van Zuilen, the filmmaker looks at the many 'islands' in the area. It is a working-class area of Utrecht where people with high incomes, immigrants and 'generation after generation of unemployed' live. In her documentary début, Pennarts meets the inhabitants. Their love of the area stops them from fleeing the problems and instead they get together to seek an answer to make the area safe and habitable.
