DEPOT – Reflecting Boijmans, a new documentary by Sonia Herman Dolz about the creation of the MVRDV-designed Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, has been selected as part of the programme of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it will receive its world premiere at the end of this month.

Located in the Museumpark, next to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen itself, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is not a second museum building, but rather the world’s first fully accessible art storage facility. Many international museums can only showcase six to seven per cent of their collections in exhibitions, with the rest hidden in storage. The depot breaks with this tradition of concealment: the design makes visible all these previously invisible artefacts in a unique and iconic reflective building, specially designed by MVRDV to meet the requirements of this unprecedented typology.

The film follows Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen director Sjarel Ex and MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas during the design and construction of the depot. At the same time, the museum’s main building closed for a major renovation. Using archival footage, the documentary draws parallels between the construction of that building in the 1930s and the new depot.

The IFFR describes the film by saying: “Maas and Ex show the stripped-down museum and the brand-new depot with a pleasure that is contagious, sharing their passionate views on past and present. The film, which is a monument to the future, discloses the museum's secrets in passing and divulges details that are normally kept out of view. Both buildings open up, revealing a treasure trove of artistic works. The result is a loving symphony for art and architecture.”

DEPOT – Reflecting Boijmans will be on show throughout the International Film Festival Rotterdam, which runs from January 25th to February 5th. More information can be found here.