Enclosed by a railway, a highway and WIELS contemporary art centre, lies a no-place – initially a construction site flooded by groundwater, later halted by the 2008 financial crisis, which paralysed the project. At the intersection of geological and financial forces, the marsh named after Wiels came into existence. This biotope is a green oasis in the middle of nowhere — merging the surreal with the natural, it has become a refuge for insects, birds and people alike.

A diary of a unique strip of land — a blend of home video and cinematic essay. As introduced by the Brussels-based director duo Sherman and Camus, the film explores “an ecosystem in the heart of the ruins of industrial capitalism”. Shot on 16mm film, this poetic work gives a nod to Tarkovsky’s Zone in Stalker (1979) and reflects on the fragile boundary between humans and nature – shaped not by reinforced concrete, but by the conditions of coexistence. As one of the film’s characters puts it: “Because when there’s an earthquake, animals — whether it’s a frog, a dog, a cat, anything, even a dragonfly — they can escape, but humans will stay.”