Following his first three films–Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years a Slave–Steve McQueen took a different path with Widows, carving a female-led heist thriller that still bore his signature style. The director is now forging ahead on his next project, which will see his switch to the nonfiction arena as he looks back into the mid-20th century.

The director will helm The Occupied City in a collaboration with his wife Bianca Stigter, who wrote the book it is based on, “Atlas of an Occupied City. Amsterdam 1940-1945.” Cineuropa reports on the project, which “focuses on visible and invisible traces of the second world war in Amsterdam, offering its readers an unknown history.” With nearly a $1 million in funding already set from Netherlands Film Fund, it looks like production will proceed soon.

McQueen has always excelled at finding the minute details in his stories and we imagine his jump into the documentary form will be no different, and perhaps will give him the room to be more experimental in his storytelling. As we await more details, check out a recent extensive talk with the director below.

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