Dutch filmmaker Bas van Est and filmmaking collective Off The Richter shine a spotlight on the camaraderie between a band of teenage quad bike riders called Bousher Bike Life Crew—named after the dunes that surround their city in Oman. In this adrenaline-fuelled portrait of life on four wheels, the boys tear up the streets of Muscat in search of freedom and self-expression. 

As a result of Oman’s accelerated industrial expansion, deserts and barren spaces have been reappropriated for construction projects, pushing counter-cultural activities such as dune racing onto the streets. 

“With construction cranes surrounding the Bousher sands the crew’s playground is more limited,” says Bas van Est, the photographer and co-director of the film. With the boys now forced to take to pedestrianized areas their sport has become “a game of cat and mouse between the authorities and the teenagers,” says van Est.

Everything is Temporary merges cinematic visuals with hair-raising vignettes of young, fearless drivers riding across both urban and sand-swept environments. A few of the death-defying shots were also captured by Off The Richter cameraman Tim Padmos who had to cling onto the backs of high-velocity quad bikes.

“With Oman becoming more popular for tourism, transit and business there is a conscious effort to maintain traditions amidst all this change,” says van Est. “How they act, react and behave within the freedom that this new generation lives in is part of what will shape the future of the country.”