All You See

What if from one day to the next, you’re no longer seen, but instead are stared at? The leading characters in this multi-layered film have ended up in a new world where suddenly nothing seems to align. In their new lives in the Netherlands, they unintentionally provoke reactions on a daily basis. Even after many years, they still hear the same questions over and over again: where are you from, do you speak Dutch, do you tan in the sun?

This experience is all too familiar to director Niki Padidar, who left Iran when she was 7. In All You See, she enters into painful and humorous conversation with three others who are immigrants. There’s Khadija, originally from Somalia, who has been a “newcomer” for 27 years, Sophia, who has just come over from the UK, and Hanna from Ukraine, who watches cartoons and films to learn how to blend in and not constantly seem like a tourist.

In Padidar’s carefully designed film, these conversations are interspersed with her visual exploration of what it means to be subjected to the projections of others, and the alienation it evokes. How long can a newcomer be considered new?

Nominated for IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film and IDFA Award for Best First Feature