Amsterdam-Batavia Door de Lucht

Partly staged long documentary about the Zaan region of North Holland. As far back as the 17th century, the local council developed the area with an eye towards labour and people, and the mills were the machines that enabled productivity and prosperity. Since that time, the Zaan has developed into an important industrial centre. In this nearly two-hour film, we see most of the region’s cities and towns, as well as its key industries.

Raw footage of windmills, probably made by Theo Güsten and possibly by Dick Laan as well. This footage was probably shot for the films De Zaanstreek by Güsten and Hoe de Zaansche molens verdwijnen by Dick Laan. The two films do not contain any of the same images. We see shots of, for example, the windmill called “De Windhond” (“The Greyhound”) in Woerden, and several windmills in the Zaan region.

Minute-long shots of the Dutch factory's grounds and the surroundings. We see the production process of 'de bekende murwe lijnkoeken W. L. en Ster halfzachte lijnkoeken" (“the famous soft oil cakes W.L. and Ster semi-soft oil cakes”). At the end, we see a parade of the whole range of products, including the “Ster linum flour” (“very kneadable”), “soya cakes”, “groundnut cakes” and “coconut cakes”.