'A LONG GOODBYE', by KATE VOES & VICTOR MAES

‘A Long Goodbye’ tells the story of Ida, a 72-year old pianist living with dementia. immerses us in the life of a 72-year-old pianist. In this interactive VR experience we walk in Ida’s shoes and experience a day in her life, as her reality is fading. 

At first, the apartment, where she spent a lifetime with her beloved husband Daniel, feels empty and undefined, but like pieces of a puzzle, memories and conversations help Ida to rediscover herself. When we interact with objects around us, her playful world gradually comes to life, as if drawn in paint before our eyes. 

A Long Goodbye is at once a personal and a universal story about human connection. It serves as a reminder that people are always so much more than their illness. Instead of focusing on what is lost, we need to stay close and hold on to shared affection.

Kate Voet is a Belgian film director and screenwriter from Brussels, having studied English literature and linguistics, theater studies and film directing at the University of Amsterdam, LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and The New School in New York City. With her film projects in development, she participated in several workshops and markets such as Torino Film Lab, the Venice Gap Financing Market and IDFA Doclab Forum.

Victor Maes graduated from LUCA School of Arts Brussels’ film program in 2015, and took courses in advanced cinematography at the Global Cinematography Institute in Los Angeles. He’s been working as a camera assistant on feature films and commercials (Close, Girl, Holly, De Patrick, Nobody has to Know, The Wolf, the fox and the Leopard) since 2016. As a cinematographer he works on various film projects, alternating between fiction and documentary as well as commercials ones.

Winner Venice Immersive Achievement Prize Venice Biennale 82 Edition