A LONG GOODBYE

A film by Kate Voet & Victor Maes, 2025
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Genre: Drama

Languages: English, Dutch

Format: XR – VR experience

Son: 5.1

Duration: 25 min

Countries: Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands

Year: 2025

Internet site

PRESS KIT

Press kit to download

SYNOPSIS

A Long Goodbye tells the story of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia. In this animated, interactive VR experience, we walk in Ida’s shoes. We experience a day in her life, as her reality is fading. The apartment, where she spent a lifetime with her beloved husband Daniel, first feels empty and undefined. When we interact with objects and play the tape recordings of her husband, her playful world gradually comes to life, as if drawn in paint before our eyes.

Like pieces of a puzzle, memories and conversations help Ida to rediscover herself. But we also discover Daniel’s struggles, as he hopes to stay connected and realizes their remaining time together may be short. A Long Goodbye is a poetic experience about the impact of dementia, but above all it is about love and the long goodbye of two lovers who shared a life together.

CREDITS

Writers and directors: Kate Voet & Victor Maes

Composer: Joep Beving

Studios: Polygoat (BE), Velvet Flare (LUX), Game Audio Squad (NL)

Producers: Emmy Oost & An Oost – Cassette for timescapes (BE)

Co-producers: Donato Rotunno – Tarantula (LUX), Richard Valk – Valk Productions (NL)

With the support of Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), Luxembourg Film Fund, the Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA of the European Union, The Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, Pictanovo, deAuteurs

GALLERY

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FESTIVALS

82th Biennale di Venezia
Immersive Competition - Achievement Prize

Film Fest Gent

Thessaloniki international film festival (GR)
The Immersive: All Around Cinema “Golden Alexander”

Breedbeeld Kortfilmfestival (BE)

IDFA Doclab (NL)

Docfest Brugge (BE)

Kortfilmfestival Leuven (BE)

Fipadoc (FR)

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (FR)
Best XR Film

Filmfestival Oostende (BE)

Luxembourg city film festival (LUX)
Immersive Pavillon

Kaboom (NL)

SXSW (USA)

Filmgate Interactive (USA)

NewImages (FR)

DIRECTOR

Kate Voet is a Belgian film director and screenwriter of fiction projects. She studied directing and English literature in Amsterdam, New York and Brussels. Her projects have been selected for development labs and markets such as the Venice Gap-Financing Market, Torino Film Lab, and IDFA Doclab Forum. Her short films Les Homards Immortels (2017) and The Tears of Things (2021) toured festivals internationally and received several awards.

Victor Maes graduated from LUCA School of Arts Brussels’ film program with a short animation film and studied cinematography at the Global Cinematography Institute in Los Angeles. He’s been working as a camera assistant on feature films since 2016 (Close & Girl by Lukas Dhont, Holly by Fien Troch). As a cinematographer he recently shot Ever Since, I Have Been Flying by Aylin Gökmen (Locarno & Toronto IFF ’23).