Hotel Mokum (ENG SUBS)

‘Pak Mokum Terug’ is the name of a group of Amsterdam activists who refuse to accept that the basic right to housing no longer seems to apply. Against this backdrop, Hotel Mokum reports on the occupation of a dilapidated hotel in the city center, told from the perspective of a fictional activist.

We follow the events through mobile phone, archival, and fictional footage. The squatters transform the dilapidated hotel into a vibrant living and working community, creating not only living spaces but also studios and places for meetings and neighborhood celebrations. To mark their first month in the building, they hold a cheerful celebration. But less than two weeks later, their hopes are dashed when a judge orders their eviction, and the riot police arrive to remove them.

However, the struggle continues, as we see at the end of this 20-minute documentary, when another building is occupied. “You can evict us from a building,” the narrator says proudly, “but you will never evict our ideals.”