Isle of Sien

Sien, a bird of paradise. On an old tape recorder, the Dutch life-drawing model (74) records her memories, poems and thoughts for her new friend, the filmmaker Karim Ouri. From her hideout on the island of Vlieland, where she camps for months every year, Sien recounts her turbulent life as a model, squatter, activist and mother living in Amsterdam in the 1960s and 1970s.

The colourful world of Sien was often met with misunderstanding and aggression from those on the outside. Sien’s life, its joys and freedoms, has proved to be a hard-won right by her and her two sons, who listen in turn to their mother’s tapes. The film weaves archival footage from the housing shortage and emerging counterculture of the 1960s with the early pages of Sien’s story and her young family. The captivating island of Vlieland is a canvas for a profound portrait of this free-spirited woman.