Maila Ahmad was born and raised in the Netherlands and is a member of the Kurdish diaspora. She speaks the language, knows the music and traditions, but for her, Kurdistan consists mainly of family stories. In the Dutch series ‘Dreamland Kurdistan’ (Droomland Koerdistan, directed by Reber Dosky), she travels through historic Kurdistan. Gradually, she comes to understand better why her mother spoke to her about Kurdistan with both pride and fear.

July 2023. Nagorno-Karabakh has been under siege by Azerbaijan for seven months. Sensing the approach of war, Lebanese-Armenian filmmaker Comes Chahbazian asks his friend to film his daily life. Here, Elsewhere captures the rhythms of family life amid isolation, uncertainty and the growing threat of war. Through images of striking tenderness, a quiet resistance emerges – that of a people on the verge of having to flee their homeland for good.

Most reporting on the United Nations resolution over a ‘new world map’ has been a mix of exaggerations and misunderstandings, states PolGeoNow founder and map expert Evan Centanni. Six things you should know.

In the documentary series Gateways of Europe (in Dutch Poorten van Europa), we see how the paper reality of European border control clashes with daily reality. Documentary makers Eefje Blankevoort, Els van Driel and Tomas Kaan were granted three years of access to Frontex, the European border agency that has come under fire due to human rights violations. They also followed key figures outside the agency who critically monitor the organization and its border policy.

Mail! Maps! Travelling without moving! We love all of this. This Summer, Fenix, the Rotterdam art museum about migration, is showcasing Hotel Europe on their central square. This artwork, by Harald Vlugt consist of four large tables that form a giant map of Europe. Up close, you see that the map consists of hundreds of envelopes. The artist has sent out these envelopes, back in 1997. Some got delivered, some didn’t. Next to the artwork, there is a special table that functions as a global mailbox. At the kiosk, you can buy a postcard and a Fenix stamp. Take a seat, write a summer greeting and send it out into the world.

This week, on the 27th of July, it’s 73 years ago since the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, marking the still existing ceasefire between South and North Korea. The border between the two Koreas is a fascinating place that caught the attention of journalist Roland de Courson. He has been exploring the inter-Korean border, its history, landscapes, and the people living in its shadow and made K-Scar: A Journey Along the Korean Division. We recommend diving into this interesting online documentary project exploring everything border-related .