Terra Nova
A reconstruction of Gerard Rutten's sound film from 1931, that was feared lost. Terra Nova is a very Dutch fisherman's drama set in Volendam at the time of the construction of the Afsluitdijk that now separates the IJsselmeer from the North Sea. The damming of what was then the Zuiderzee threatened to rob the fishermen of their livelihood. The older generation rebelled and a generation conflict ensued. The film combines expressionistic acting with a documentary film style. Terra Nova was to have been the first Dutch sound film. However the film never found its way to the cinema screen. For sixty years, Terra Nova was lost. In 1991 much of the film was found in the Dutch Film Museum. The music especially composed for this Zuiderzee drama was also recovered. Using a shot list and a programme booklet, the Film Museum has reconstructed the film as Gerard Rutten probably intended.