NOT BUILT TO LAST
Short, Netherlands, 2026
Two architects meet for a single day in Rotterdam. Daniel, a local, is assigned to guide Emre, a visitor from Istanbul, through the city and its architecture. What begins as a professional tour gradually reveals their differences in freedom, identity and the idea of home, almost as if Rotterdam and Istanbul themselves are meeting for a day.
Not Built to Last is the winner of Roze Filmdagen Short Film Script/Idea Competition and the recipient of the production grant.
The film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2026 and is selected to compete for both the Golden Calf Competition and the Debut Competition at the Netherlands Film Festival (NFF) 2026, where it was shortlisted as one of three finalists for the Debut Award.
“...an intelligent and layered film that weaves questions of identity, freedom and connection into an encounter between two architects from Rotterdam and Istanbul. The characters are nuanced; their cultural backgrounds and homosexuality are part of their identities without ever fully defining them. With strong performances and beautiful cinematography, the result is a poetic ode to architecture, to Rotterdam and Istanbul, and to the meeting of different perspectives and lived experiences.”
— NFF Debut Competition Jury
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Deniz Arıkan
Dennis Overeem
Buddy Film Productions
Sidar Toksöz, Jesse Mensah
Christiaan van Leeuwen
Bram van Dam
Olivier Rekers
Buket Zor
Ron Groenewoud
Dewi Reijs
Kennard Bos, Gülengül Altıntaş
Ramy Azmy
Ahmed Alamoudi
Kimo Sindi
Kris Dekker, Leon de Haas
Ruben Labree
Marcel de Hoogd
Nur Ozkan
Mirjam Dijkman
Maria Bodrug