Songs for a Passerby
A VR OPERA ABOUT OUR UNFIXED RELATIONSHIP WITH TRANSIENT REALITY.
How do we relate to a world of passing things? Are we part of it? Or do we merely observe it? Are we a body, or do we have a body? Does this ambivalence perhaps lie at the root of all melancholy?
In Songs for a Passerby, you walk independently, equipped with VR goggles, through a musical dreamscape. You follow your own 3D reflection and pass by various scenes: a dying horse, a choir of people muttering, two dogs playing.
Songs for a Passerby is a meditative quest, where you briefly step outside of reality and look at yourself. As the puppeteer of your own body, you enter a poetic space where the melancholic question arises: am I passing by moments, or are moments passing by me?
Director Celine Daemen: “By allowing viewers to step outside themselves and, with the help of live 3D cameras, show them the contours of their own selves, I hope the experience touches on a recognizable sense of melancholy, in which we no longer form an immediate unity with the world, but also stand in opposition to it. As poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote: ‘That is our fate, always facing being, and nothing but that.’
With Songs for a Passerby, I wanted to create an experience that explores the connection between the physical and metaphysical worlds: You are both a body moving through space and a mind watching it. Time inevitably passes you by, yet all moments simultaneously coexist. You are in the world and simultaneously outside of it.”
Songs for a Passerby won the Venice Immersive Grand Prize at the 2023 Venice Film Festival
press
Award-winning virtual reality opera constantly confronts you with your feelings" ★★★★☆
photos
showcases
Songs for a Passerby was presented at:
29/08/2023 - 09/09/2023 INTERNATIONAL PREMIER LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA, VENICE, ITALY
20/09/2023 - 30/09/2023 DUTCH PREMIER MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ‘T IJ, AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
28/11/2023 - 03/12/2023 DE DOELEN, ROTTERDAM , THE NETHERLANDS
05/02/2024 - 12/02/2024 NATIONALE OPERA EN BALLET, AMSTERDAM,THE NETHERLANDS
09/03/2024 - 13/03/2024 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, AUSTIN, U.S.
24/05/2024 - 30/05/2024 SPRING FESTIVAL, UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS
03/06/2024 - 14/06/2024 BIFAN, BUCHEON, SOUTH KOREA
19/07/2024 - 27/07/2024 NOWE HORYZONTY IFF, WROCLAW, POLAND
18/09/2024 - 30/09/2024 SONICA, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
20/09/2024 - 23/09/2024 NETHERLANDS FILM FESTIVAL, UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS
29/09/2024 - 02/10/2024 KAOHSIUNG FILM ARCHIVE, TAIPEI, TAIWAN
19/10/2024 - 02/11/2024 BONNEFANTEN, MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS26/02/2025 - 28/02/2025 LINCOLN CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS,
23/04/2025 - 27/04/2025 DE SINGEL, ANTWERP, BELGIUM
01/05/2025 LINCOLN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, NEW YORK - Open Studio
21/05/2025 - 25/05/2025 ILT FESTIVAL, AARHUS, DENEMARKEN
18/06/2025 - 28/06/2025 BOZAR, BRUSSEL, BELGIUM
15/11/2025 - 16/11/2025 WONDERLAND FESTIVAL, BRESCIA, ITALIE
making of
credits
cast
Nadia Amin, Vincent van den Berg, Hans Croiset, Sterre Konijn, Misja Nolet, Carl Refos, Michaela Riener, Eleonora Schrickx, Georgi Sztojanov, Garbo, Micha, Raffie, Rey
crew
Production: Nicky Groot, Development: Sjoerd van Acker
Physical space design: Carlijn Veurink
3D art: Bats Bronsveld, Eline Oppewal
Model design: Lisanne Hoogerwerf, Photogrammetry art: Dajo Brinkman, Tommy Jansen. Child casting & guidance: Luca Meisters (Sproet Casting).
Horse training & guidance: Chandrika Brevet (Asvayan Stables). Technical advice: Cerezo Boldewijn
Poster image and stills: Aron Fels, Bowie Verschuuren
team
Regie Celine Daemen
VR art direction Aron Fels Compositie muziek & geluid Asa Horvitz Libretto Olivier Herter
Geluid & mix Wouter Snoei
Ontwikkeld met de financiële steun van Fonds Podiumkunsten, het Nederlands Filmfonds en Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
production
Productie Silbersee, in coproductie met: Studio Nergens, VIA ZUID and Muziekgebouw Productiehuis
SILBERSEE
Artistiek Leider Romain Bischoff
Creatief producent Dominique Slegers
Coach dramaturgie en communicatie Jan Van den BosscheVerkoopmanager Jimmy-Pierre de Graaf Duurzaamheidsmanager Stella van Himbergen
Grafisch ontwerp Lise Bruyneel
STUDIO NERGENS Coproducent
door Celine Daemen
VIA ZUID
Directeur Ton Driessen Artistiek leider Joost Segers
Netwerker, verbinder Linda Becker
thanks
With thanks to coaches Romain Bischoff (mentor), Jan Van den Bossche (dramaturgy and communication), Guido Jansen (dramaturgy), Yannis Kyriakides (music), Ravian van den Hil (context), Elke Müller (philosophy), Toffey (marketing), Roelof Terpstra (technology), Ezra Bredius (business), Katrien Sitters (business), Imke Muriël van Herk (PR)
With thanks to Jackie Smeets, Elsa Domingos Cristovao, Joost Schrickx, Leon Brevet, Evi Moeremans, Rafael Wisniewski, Leslie De Pauw, Elvire Schoeters, and Scott Gibbons