Minimalist scene with a small globe, a elephant figurine, a brown pillow, a dark pillow, a rectangular cushion, a vase with green monstera leaves, a small boat with oars, all arranged on a plain white background with the words 'Indisch Zwigen' in the center.

Indisch Zwijgen
Title and credits sequencing

Indisch Zwijgen is a documentary by Sven Peetoom and Juliette Dominicus, where they follow three Dutch-Indonesian artists of the third generation, who delve into their family history in an attempt to look for answers and to break generations of silence.

The Dutch East Indies, known today as Indonesia, was colonised by The Netherlands in the early 19th century. The descendants from the Dutch and the Indonesians were called 'Indo’ people, who became a seperate class between the coloniser and the colonised. After centuries of Dutch colonisation, the Japanse occupation and the war of independance, around 300.000 Indos fled to The Netherlands. Currently there are between 1,5 to 2 million Dutch people with Indonesian roots, but most of them know next to nothing about their family history back in the former Dutch East Indies.

While working on this documentary by and for Dutch-Indo’s as a Dutch graphic designer, I chose to only use typefaces designed by Indonesian type foundries, in this case TOKO Type, to support, involve and give space for Indonesian design within the documentary. Considering my own social relation to this documentary, the subject at hand, and of course the quality of typefaces that the Global South can produce, it wouldn’t make sense not to.

2022

A young woman lying on a textured floor, looking upward with a slight smile, with text in Dutch on the left side of the image.
Silhouette of a woman looking down against a blurred background with Dutch text reading about Indian Dutch people researching their family history.
Three young women sitting on the floor surrounded by various objects including a globe, a small sculpture, a plant in a vase, and a backpack, against a plain background with text 'Mei Beeldend kunstenaar' in the center.
An elderly man leaning over to show something to a young woman sitting on a sofa, with a large pink recliner nearby and curtains in the background.
Close-up of a woman with dark hair looking to the side, with a beige patterned wall in the background. Text overlay in the upper left corner reads 'Yolanda Moeder van Amara'.
Black background with white text listing the names Juliette Dominicus, Mei Oe, and Amara van der Elst.
Screen with black background and the names Wil Richards, Yolanda Meivogel, Wouter Dominicus, and Rik Vermeulen centered in white text
Black screen with white text showing the credits for a film, including names of director, producer, and cinematographer.
Black background with white text crediting Bram van Kaauwen for set design, Nola Zeegers for montage, and Francesca Vincentie for composition.
Black background with a white central list of names and the Dutch phrase 'Met dank aan' at the top, which translates to 'Thanks to'.
Screen with text thanking supporters for a film and logos of organizations supporting the project.
Screen showing the ending credits of a film, listing names of contributors with a black background and white text, centered on the page.
Black background with a white logo of a vintage film camera and the text 'There Will Be Film' in a tilted banner. Small text at the bottom reads '© Stichting There Will Be Film 2022'.