‘Outside’ follows the journey of The Scavenger, a man whose life has been completely uprooted, following a catastrophic event that has changed his world forever. Trying to survive in this new world void of human life, he struggles to stay alive. He scavenges the streets, searching for food and other means to stay alive. The streets of a once lively city are empty, bar the sounds of birds and the wind blowing through the streets. Occasionally, he encounters threats he tries to avoid, which remind him of his troubled past. While trying to adapt to this new reality, he tries to find closure for his past. The story (heavily) touches on subjects such as loneliness and homelessness. ‘Outside’ is a poignant and haunting exploration of survival and grief in a post-apocalyptic setting, as The Scavenger navigates a cityscape void of human life, grappling with themes of loneliness and homelessness, while confronting his past. Through its evocative storytelling, the film captivates with its exploration of human resilience and the search for meaning in a desolate world.

"'Outside' is a deeply personal project for me, born out of an idea I had while passing by a homeless person on the street. I noticed how little regard I had towards this person and was shocked by this realization that I pass by people who are forced to live on the streets all the time. People go unnoticed, while they try to survive and have to live this life, many times through no fault of their own. We don’t know their stories; we don’t know how they got there. But we also don’t recognize them or offer help. We just let them live in their own world. Various articles I’ve read since, also mention how homeless people live their lives as if they are living in a post-apocalyptic world, sometimes due to a catastrophic event that happened in their own lives, or the way they live on the outskirts of society. I wanted to explore this theme while making a film in which the viewer is first compelled by the story of a man trying to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, a story recognizable for most viewers through the experience of other post-apocalyptic and survival films. And then suddenly confronting them with this harsh reality, that this happens all the time, all around us. In this film, I wanted to capture the city I live in, Rotterdam, and strip it of human life. Now being an empty, lifeless city, it serves as the backdrop of our characters’ story. With the hundreds of thousands of people living in this city, our character is still alone. At its core, ‘Outside’ is a film about survival and grief, but also human resilience and trying to make it in a new world. I hope that ‘Outside’ resonates with audiences on a profound emotional level, inspiring them to look up and around more often and see the sorrow that haunts the streets of every city. I hope you will consider ‘Outside’ for inclusion in your film festival. I would be honored to share this deeply personal project with audiences around the world and look forward to the opportunity to engage with viewers in meaningful conversations about the themes and messages explored in the film." Sincerely, Frank van Bergen Rotterdam, March 2024