In the interactive web documentary Blind Date two total strangers meet. One is a Dutch national. The other one is a Yezidi, Mandaean or Assyrian who fled from threat, persecution or oppression.
What do we know about these 'foreigners'? Who are they? What are they thinking? Can they be themselves in the Netherlands? Blind Date brings these two worlds together.
The foreigners live in the Netherlands, but their thoughts and actions still show strong ties to their original culture. The Dutch are very different and quite outspoken. In Blind Date they meet each other in a stark, white room.
When they first meet, they sit opposite each other and wear blindfolds. Guided by a stack of cards with questions on them, they engage in personal conversations about everyday issues such as happiness, sex, loss, God, family, the Netherlands.
This interactive documentary is part of a transmedial diptych and complements the TV documentary series From Nablus to Nineveh. Blind Date chooses another, complimentary perspective.
From Nablus to Nineveh focusses on the threat to these six people in their homeland: Copts, Mandaeans, Yazidis, Bedouins, Druze and Samaritans. To go to the programme website or watch the TV documentary series, click here.
Blind Date opts for a complimentary perspective. Instead of focusing on the threat the people face over there, it focuses on our relationship with the same people over here. In an interactive web environment the viewer gets drawn into intriguing encounters and has the option to access additional layers to find out more information.
The website runs best on a desktop or laptop in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and the latest versions of Internet Explorer and Safari. You can also access the website from your tablet and smartphone, but the experience won’t be as good as from a desktop or laptop.