“When I became a volunteer for the International Film Festival, I kind of fell in love with Rotterdam,” says Nazanin from Iran. When she was 21, she moved to Berlin, Aachen and then The Hague.
“I always lived in cities for short periods of time, including in Iran. So I was never really able to land. Not even in Iran; there people didn’t accept who I was. I couldn’t settle in Berlin either. It was a metropolis, but I was 21 and had just come from Iran. So that was a lot. So that city was also an in-between place for me.” In 2001, she moved to The Hague for her studies, but she couldn’t settle there either. Until she ended up in Rotterdam 12 years ago. “Nowhere in the world do I feel as at home as in Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, I can really take root. It has an allure and mentality that I like. That’s why I feel at home there.”
Gateway to the city
Here she became a volunteer at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. “That was like a gateway to the city for me. That’s how I got to know all my friends and my husband. So it’s great that you can build that kind of network here.” She is still a regular at the international film festival. And she likes more things about the city. “I really love the Meuse River. The city also offers a lot of room for experimentation. As a result, many things are possible. I love that.”
Open yourself
That is also her advice to other newcomers. “Open yourself up. Then the city will also open up to you.” She says this is necessary for the city’s future. “I am very proud of the city’s diversity and being able to be part of it. But I also see the difficult sides. I see a lot of bubbles and gaps between cultures. Populism is increasing. As a result, that gap is widening. People look at each other with distrust. You can see that from the outcome of the elections. As a society, we should not be open to that. I hope people will start looking at each other more.”