Norton Lecture Four: Occupied City

2025-26 Norton Professor of Poetry: Steve McQueen

Discussant: Bianca Stigter, Writer, Producer, and Director

Moderator: Dennis Lim, Writer and Film Curator

Occupied City explores the past and the present of Amsterdam. Based on Bianca Stigter’s Atlas of an Occupied City - Amsterdam 1940-1945, Steve McQueen’s epic film observes 130 locations in present-day Amsterdam and pairs them with stories about persecution, collaboration and resistance that took place there under the nazi rule of the Dutch capital. The images show the city now, a voice-over tells the stories of the past; stories about the occupation, oppression, terror and the persecution of Jews and other groups by the Nazi regime, stories that lie hidden behind the façades, streets, and squares of the city. The film was shot between 2020 and 2023, as the COVID pandemic took place as well as the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and Climate Change marches. The 4.5-hour film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and was shown at the New York Film Festival and the 50th Telluride Film Festival and was one of the best films of the year according to the New York Times.

Steve McQueen and Bianca Stigter are joined by Dennis Lim, artistic director of the New York Film Festival, to discuss how the film intertwines the history of Amsterdam's Nazi occupation with its present-day reality, addressing themes of memory, time, and the impact of history on the present. The lecture will also refer to the 34-hour presentation, Occupied City (still) on the facade of the Rijksmuseum, where it was shown continuously from September 2025 until the 25th of January 2026.

Steve McQueen: “The work invites reflection on themes such as occupation, persecution and freedom. The two versions of Occupied City act differently. Occupied City (still) which is mounted on the façade of the Rijksmuseum, literally holds up a mirror to the city. It presents the daily life of contemporary Amsterdam, which sits on 750 years of history. At its core is the magnitude of what has taken place right here during the Second World War. You couldn’t possibly hold it all in your head and the passage of time has covered most of it. Living in Amsterdam feels like living with ghosts. There are always two or three parallel narratives unfolding at once. The past is always present.’’

This is the fourth of six Norton Lectures with Steve McQueen. For all Lecture dates and information, click here.

Admission is FREE; tickets are required. Tickets can be obtained through the Harvard Box Office. Seating is first come, first served. Limit of four tickets per person. Tickets valid until 5:45pm.

Tickets will be available in advance one week prior to each lecture starting at noon online, in person at the Smith Campus Center box office, or by phone. Handling fees apply for online and phone sales. Tickets also available in person at Sanders Theatre starting two hours prior to each lecture, subject to availability.

Free parking for all six Norton Lectures is available at the Broadway Garage, located at 7 Felton Street, between Broadway and Cambridge Streets. Parking is from one hour pre-performance to one hour post. More info at Parking & Directions.