Today, The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam unveiled a 34-hour edition of Steve McQueen’s Occupied City.

Shot between 2020 and 2023, the film weaves together two narratives: a meticulous door-to-door mapping of Amsterdam under Nazi occupation and a portrait of the city during the recent years of pandemic and protest.

From 11 September 2025 to 25 January 2026, a silent version of the work will be projected continuously onto the museum’s south façade, while an edition with sound and narration will screen inside the Rijksmuseum auditorium. Spanning more than 2,000 addresses, the project draws on Atlas of an Occupied City. Amsterdam 1940–1945 by historian and filmmaker Bianca Stigter.

The presentation is part of Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary celebrations and marks the 80th anniversary of liberation.

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Image: Steve McQueen, Occupied City, 2025 (still) © Steve McQueen.