FNC – Nummer achttien

Les nouveaux alchimistes section

After a near-fatal accident, multidisciplinary artist Guido Van der Werve awakens from his coma to serious brain trauma and scant hopes of recovery. However, his extraordinarily philosophical outlook allows him to make a miraculous recovery. And what if the starting point of this healing journey were a childhood marked by pain and illness? Structured like a therapeutic guide to mental rehabilitation, this first feature adopts a non-linear approach that mixes family re-enactments with archival images, chamber orchestra music and lyric song, painting and scientific interviews. The result is an entertainingly dizzying dive into the psyche of an artist who reveals himself as a mercurial existentialist.

*International Film Festival Rotterdam 2023 – Tiger Competition