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For the last two years, Romke Hoogwaerts has been developing the photobook and film of a story that takes place on the beaches of the The Hague, Holland, where every New Year’s Eve, two neighborhoods build rivaling bonfires.

After the Second World War, The Hague was a city of skirmishes every year over collections of discarded Christmas trees to burn on the night of the year's passing; often, the violence on the streets leading up to every New Year's Eve would get out of hand. With the blessing of the local authorities, the violence slowly evolved into a battle between Scheveningen and Duindorp, two coastal neighborhoods separated by a harbor, to see who could build the biggest bonfire.

These days, they are the biggest in the world.