The Sinking Fringe

The Sinking Fringe (2025, 56') is a feature-length documentary about the quirky Baaibuurt-West neighborhood, located in the southwest of Zeeburgereiland, between the Piet Hein Tunnel and Zuiderzeeweg, which is slated for demolition.

For decades, this area has been home to tight-knit communities and creative workspaces, but starting January 1, 2025, the neighbor-hood will be ‘developed.’ This urban renewal project involves raising the sinking ground with seven meters of sand to prepare it for traditional housing construction. Hence, the neighborhood is also known as ‘The Sinking Fringe.’

This documentary of the same name, directed by housing researcher and activist Mirte Jepma (UvA), captures the stories, faces, and spaces of a neighborhood at risk of being buried under the sand. Through interviews, archival footage, and atmospheric shots, the film offers an intimate portrait of a hidden neighborhood and its residents, who live between hope and fear while fighting to secure their rightful place in Amsterdam's changing urban landscape.
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About Baaibuurt-West and the Baiibuurt Collective:
For the film, Mirte closely collaborated with the residents of Baaibuurt-West, particularly the Baaibuurt Collective, which is fighting to preserve the neighborhood. ‘By joining the collective, I consider this documentary as an essential product of their struggle, aiming to provide a platform for communities often excluded from decisions about their own neighborhoods,’ she explains.

According to the filmmaker, The Sinking Fringe highlights the courage, creativity, and love of the residents resisting development plans and advocating for an alternative urban plan. This plan, designed in collaboration with architecture firm Raumplan and design agency Buro Harro, envisions a neighborhood that accommodates the same number of new homes while preserving the existing green spaces and current communities.

Unfortunately, despite tireless efforts with the Amsterdam municipality, the eviction and demolition of Baaibuurt-West began on January 1, 2025. Mirte remarks: ‘I hope the film sparks a debate about the values and priorities guiding the planning and shaping of our cities.’

About Mirte Jepma and the team:
Mirte Jepma (she/her) is a PhD researcher at the University of Amsterdam, focusing on housing injustices through the lens of grassroots resistance, lived experiences, and alternative self-organization. Her research equips her with critical tools to explore and advocate for housing rights in her hometown, Amsterdam. Using diverse media - writing, drawing and film - she amplifies the voices of those affected by housing injustice,
working toward a more equitable future.

In addition to Mirte, who directed the film, the crew of The Sinking Fringe includes cinematographer Alberto Morbelli, producer Marijn van der Eyden, impact producer Emiel Martens, and editor Benjamin Vanderveen, with both Marijn and Benjamin having lived in Baaibuurt-West.