International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

Synopsis

The Bittersweet Shadow of Stampersgat is a documentary about the changing relation between the inhabitants of the small village of Stampersgat and the large sugarfactory there. We follow the familymembers of filmmaker Patrick Bus, which all have a special relation to the sugar beet. Father puts sugar in his soup, over his beans and his fries. Mother nakes bouquets on beets and cousin Gustav buys his fathers farm the same day 'Brussels' decides to stop subsidizing people which grow sugar beet. The umbilical cord between the beets and the people is slowly cut - with all the consequences. The film shows a surprising combination of comical elements and the tragic outcome for the main characters.