Uriël Matahelumual

Seniors Atifah, Mel and Rita live together on a ship and often have breakfast together. This time the breakfast is slightly different because they are going to celebrate the birthday of the goldfish El Tigre for the first time since the death of beloved resident Leviy. While preparing for the birthday, everyone finds out that Leviy has left a hole and they do not know how to cope with the grief of her death – a hole they cannot fill with blueberry muffins but with the help of an unknown guest.

The Price of Staying explores the broad societal costs of adapting to climate change from the perspective of Noordereiland, a waterfront neighborhood in Rotterdam. As climate risks increase, questions about how we protect the places where people live become harder to answer. Who is responsible, what risks are we willing to accept, and who ultimately bears the costs? In the film, we follow researcher Zac Taylor (TU Delft & Resilient Delta initiative) as he explores these questions on Noordereiland and beyond. Zac speaks with residents and experts working on flood protection, urban planning, insurance and finance, each looking at the future of the delta from a different perspective. Bringing those different worlds together is at the heart of Zac’s work as a scientist. With The Price of Staying, he takes that work beyond the university campus and into the places where the consequences of climate change are already being felt.