The Road to Fenix

For five years, The Road to Fenix follows the transformation of a historic harbour warehouse in Rotterdam into an art museum about migration: a place full of stories about what it means to leave, to travel, and to begin again.

In the heart of the Fenix warehouse on Katendrecht, where millions of migrants departed, and just as many arrived, a new addition to the Rotterdam skyline is taking shape: the stainless-steel Tornado. A staircase, viewing point, and artwork in one, designed by Chinese architect Ma Yansong. The construction of the Tornado forms the common thread – a spiral that unfolds like the film itself. Every turn opens up a new perspective.

Balance

The Road to Fenix follows the people who are building Fenix. Wim Pijbes lays the foundations for Fenix and, with vision and determination, turns ideas into reality. Between dust, steel, and art, director Anne Kremers keeps the balance between accessibility, depth, and nuance. Hanneke Mantel searches archives for photographs that show the many faces of migration. Abdelkader Benali weaves objects, texts, and testimonies into a story about home, origin, and future.

Artworks by artists including Beya Gille Gacha, Shilpa Gupta, Raquel van Haver, Hans Holbein the Younger, Willem de Kooning, and Efrat Zehavi do not appear as illustrations, but as perspectives on departure and homecoming; on longing and hope, love, loss, and luck. Beauty goes hand in hand with friction – around representation, origin, and ownership. The Road to Fenix is an invitation to move along: through stories and spaces, up along the Tornado to the roof, where the city opens up.

The Road to Fenix is a production by Tomtit Film and MN Media.