THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

World Premiere | Documentary | English-, Dutch-language OV with English subtitles

In this 8-part documentary series for Dutch public television, two friends and fellow filmmakers, Martijn Blekendaal & Finbarr Wilbrink, one black, one white, embark on a transformative American road trip along the old tracks of the Underground Railroad, during slavery times a resistance group that helped smuggle enslaved people to freedom, from the sun-drenched South to the icy North of the United States. Finbarr and Martijn aim to unlock the mystery of how people can coexist in the face of such political polarization and a history of bloodshed.

New Orleans, Alabama, Atlanta, Mississippi, St Louis, Chicago, Detroit: can the folks they meet on the road illuminate a path forward that transcends the boundaries of race and politics and serve as a mirror that reflects their own struggles, teaching them how to navigate the treacherous waters of the division within their own society?

Country and year of production: The Netherlands 2024

Series duration: 8 x 45’ 

Broadcaster: Omroep Zwart