A World to Shape

Director: Ton van Zantvoort
Netherlands, 2022, 52'
with Turkish and English subtitles

Nienke Hoogvliet (1989) and Dave Hakkens (1988) represent a new generation of contemporary Dutch Designers. This generation is acutely aware that raw materials are depleting, energy is scarce, and globalisation is driving new forms of small-scale production. As makers, they don’t care about existing boundaries between art, design and science. Nienke’s mission is to make the world’s second most polluting industry – the clothing industry – more sustainable by her research on seaweed as a sustainable alternative to toxic chemicals for giving colour to textiles. Dave’s ambition is equally ambitious. His recent project attempts to establish a living and working community that uses a minimal carbon footprint. In A World to Shape, director Ton van Zantvoort guides you through the respective ingenuity of Nienke and Dave. Though they think differently, they are set on improving the world in their own inimitable ways. Where many people might see problems, Nienke and Dave envisage solutions. But how realistic are their ambitions? To find out, we join Dave and Nienke on their audacious quests.