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WHY WE CYCLE

By Arne GIELEN, Gertjan HULSTER

TASKOVSKI FILMS - as SALES All rights, World

Environmental - Completed 2017

There are more bicycles than people in the Netherlands. The Dutch don’t seem care about what special of bike culture they have. “Why we cycle” invites regular cyclists and scientists from all walks of live to talk about Dutch cycling culture.

- Year of production
- 2017
- Genres
- Environmental, Documentary
- Countries
- NETHERLANDS
- Languages
- ENGLISH, DUTCH
- Duration
- 57 mn
- Director(s)
- Arne GIELEN, Gertjan HULSTER
- Producer(s)
- Gertjan HULSTER (Nieuw & Verbeterd)
- Synopsis
- There are more bicycles than people in the Netherlands. More than 25% of all trips are by bike. In some cities this adds up to over than 60%. But do the Dutch ever think or talk about this? Not much. To them cycle is as much of a subject as drinking tap water. Probably this is part of the success of Dutch cycling: it is self-evident. But what if we would talk about the self-evident?
  
  In this movie regular cyclists and regular scientists from all walks of live paint a picture of Dutch cycling culture. We learn that cycling leads to happiness, health, keeping up cognitive functions and creativity and a state of readiness. Because cyclists are open to their surroundings and other cyclists, city life tend to be more open and traffic rules are less strict. Trust among people grows as they cycle. Cycling also leads to happy children who are free to go wherever they want to go.
  
  In poetic images the movie shows the relaxed state of the Dutch cyclist. We see how calmly they interact on the very busy intersections in the crowded cities. We see people from all ages. We see children on their first little rides on their own, we see adolescents going to school, we meet people riding their bike to work - and as part of their work - and we see people in their old days cycling to stay healthy. We see them in all kind of areas, in several cities around the country, day and night and in severe weather, too.
  
  Cycling is a very simple means to reach a lot of complex goals. For long cycling was just another means of transport, that had to be dealt with. Recent research shows that cyclists prefer different roads than the traffic designers expected. Also they tend to go about with as little rules as possible.
  
  Cycling cities need lees room for traffic and can have more space for interaction between people. Public space can shrink and the shrunken can be full of people and interaction. Meeting people spontaneously and the possibility to meet people outside your own circle are typical for a city with much active transport.
  
  Cycling is related to a specific kind of society. Showing your prestige is not common in the Netherlands. Even the Royals and the Prime-minister are aware of this. The show themselves riding a bike to show they are one of us. And they make a point of being photographed on a bike.