Maddance Productions

films/documentaries

watch excerpt
Artis

In het hol van de leeuw, Artis tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog
In the lion's mouth, Artis the Amsterdam zoo during World War II

25 min 2002 DV
documentary videotriptych
Dutch spoken, English subtitles

In het hol van de leeuw / In the lion's mouth, zoo at war is a videotriptych about Artis, the zoo in Amsterdam during the second world war. Through the stories of regular visitors, animalkeepers and people who were hiding in Artis, the different aspects of the war are being reveiled. Just like the animals in their cages people lost their liberty of movement. With a lot of inventivity they managed to survive these difficult times of fear, hunger and danger.

Images from the past are connected to images from the present in such a way that a crossover takes place between different periods and courses of time. The stories are expressed in a poetic way by close camerawork keeping humans and animals within the boundaries of Artis.

Directed and Produced by
Dorothée Meddens & Christina Hallström
Photography & Soundrecording
Dorothée Meddens & Christina Hallström
Editing
Katarina Turler
Soundscape and Soundmix
Frank Weyzig

commissioned by the Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam

Screenings
september 2002 - april 2003
The Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam at the exhibition
Pinching bread from the bears
2005 The Planetarium of Artis, Amsterdam

Broadcasting
2004 Kunstkanaal/Artchannel, the Netherlands