A Long Goodbye

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 realises 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.

When we put the VR headset on, the first questions that come to mind are: Who am I? And where am I? This confusion is exactly what our protagonist is dealing with and this became the starting point of the story. We were drawn to this theme because of Victor’s grandfather who lived with Alzheimer’s disease, and whose health declined rapidly after Victor’s grandmother passed. The experience of having witnessed this emotional transformation close by, made us explore how dementia is experienced and how it influences the relationship with your past, with yourself and with your loved ones. 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.

PRODUCTION 1:
Cassette for timescapes - Emmy Oost, An Oost
Schuurstraat 39
9040 Gent, Belgium
Tel: +32 486590713
E-mail: info@timescapes.be
Web: https://www.timescapes.be
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/cassettefortimescapes/ - Instagram, https://www.facebook.com/cassettefortimescapes - Facebook

PRODUCTION 2:
Tarantula - Donato Rotunno
1, Rue du Cimetière
1338 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Tel: +352 26 49 61 1
E-mail: donato@tarantula.lu
Web: https://www.tarantula.lu/

PRODUCTION 3:
Valk Productions - Richard Valk
Plantage Middenlaan 54 - F5
1018 DH Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tel: +31 6 50934002
E-mail: richardvalk@me.com
Web: https://www.valkproductions.com/

WORLD SALES:
Astrea Immersive - Wan-Chen Huang
13, Rue Mont-Louis
75011 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 47 00 03 01
E-mail: wanchen@astreaimmersive.io
Web: https://astreaimmersive.io/

PRESS OFFICE:
Kai Hermann - Noise Film & TV
Rapenburgerstraat 109
1011 VL Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tel: +49 152 534 509 55
E-mail: kai@noisefilmpr.co