Film screening and talk show Nusa Ina – 7 April 2024
On Sunday 7 April, Museum Maluku and Museum Sophiahof are glad to welcome you to the screening of the documentary Nusa Ina by director Anne Jan Sijbrandij. The short film centres on Loey Tamaëla – son of a prominent, now deceased Moluccan KNIL soldier who came to the Netherlands with his family in 1962 and never returned home. It brings out the personal impact of this painful history on Loey and tells a story of uprooting, struggle and longing for the mother island, Nusa Ina.
About the film *Nusa Ina *Just over seventy years ago the first large groups of Moluccans came to the Netherlands, mainly soldiers of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) and their families. They were to stay in the Netherlands temporarily and return to the Moluccas after 3 to 6 months. On arrival the soldiers were met with a cold reception. They were discharged from the KNIL, which hit like a bombshell. The expected return to the Moluccas grew ever less likely and the temporary stay slowly became permanent. For many, the struggle for a free Republic of the South Moluccas lived on.
Loey Tamaëla, now in his sixties, is the son of a prominent, now deceased former KNIL soldier. In this short film he describes what this painful history has done to him and his family. The struggle for the free republic has become his struggle, and it runs as a thread through almost every Moluccan family in the Netherlands. The look in his eyes as he talks about his impossible longing to return to the house where he was born makes that uprooting palpable. The amateur footage from the family archive is remarkable and atmospheric, as is the music in this sharply drawn portrait.
The talk show After the screening of the documentary, director Anne Jan Sijbrandij, composer Timo Sijbrandij, central character Loey Tamaëla and his son Noah Tamaëla talk together under the guidance of host and moderator Zoë Nunumete. The conversation goes deeper into the making of the film and its themes, for example the role the struggle plays for different generations of Moluccans. After the talk show there is room for questions from the audience.
Authentic dishes The conversation can continue over an authentic Moluccan meal by Taste of Maluku. Passionate owner Yannic Kuhn is happy to tell you more about how he passes on Moluccan culture through his food. Order his delicious asam pedis, pindan kuning or ikan goreng (fried fish) with colo2. Choose rice as a side dish or come and slurp papeda.
**– Ikan goreng (half fish) with colo2 served with rice or papeda – €12.50 – Ikan goreng (whole fish) with colo2 served with rice or papeda – €15.00 – Asam pedis served with rice or papeda – €12.50 – Pindang kuning served with rice or papeda – €12.50
Please note: the meals by Taste of Maluku are not included in the admission price.
Tickets Tickets cost €15 each and, besides admission to the event, also give you entry to the exhibition ONS LAND at Museum Sophiahof. You are welcome from 14.00 to visit the exhibition.
The programme From 14.00:** Opportunity to visit the ONS LAND exhibition 15.45: Doors open in the Sophiazaal** 16.00: Opening words** 16.10: Documentary Nusa Ina starts** 16.45: Talk show with makers Anne Jan & Timo Sijbrandij and protagonists Loey & Noah Tamaëla** 17.25: Q&A with the audience** 17:45: Food on sale from Taste of Maluku** 19:00: End**
Venue: Museum Sophiahof Sophialaan 10, 2514 JR The Hague
Meet the cast & crew
Anne Jan Sijbrandij
Anne Jan Sijbrandij is an Amsterdam-based filmmaker with a passion for taking viewers on a journey through visual stories. He successfully completed the master's programme in Documentary Directing at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound in Brussels, where he also made several short documentaries. Anne Jan has always had a fondness for telling stories, with film serving as the medium through which to show that passion and bring hidden stories to life.
Timo Sijbrandij
Timo Sijbrandij is a student of Human Geography at Utrecht University and has always had a great passion for music. He has played in various bands and has been producing his own music for more than 10 years. Nusa Ina marks his debut as a composer for film and is his first project in sound design.
Loey and Noah Tamaëla
Loey Tamaëla is the central figure in the film Nusa Ina. When Indonesia annexed New Guinea in 1962, he came to the Netherlands with his family as a nine-year-old child. From an early age he absorbed at home the intensity of the struggle for a free Republic of the South Moluccas. Loey and his son Noah both join the talk show, where they say more about what this painful history has done to them and what role the struggle plays for them now.
Yannic Kuhn
Yannic Kuhn, the founder of Taste of Maluku, developed a passion for cooking at the age of twenty. At first he focused on Asian cuisine broadly, later concentrating specifically on Moluccan cooking. During his degree studies the idea arose of combining his love of cooking with his Moluccan background, and this resulted in setting up his own catering business. During the first lockdown he decided to actually make the idea real.
Zoë Nunumete
Zoë Nunumete is one of the seven young Moluccans who in 2023 created the exhibition Menyala – The extraordinary history of Moluccans in the Netherlands together with the Drents Museum. With a strong interest in Moluccan art and heritage, she can regularly be found hosting or moderating cultural events. Alongside her involvement in the cultural sector, Zoë works day to day as a marketing and communications specialist.
