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A Long Goodbye: painterly 3D render of a lone grand piano on a misty concert stage as butterflies rise into streaming light

A Long Goodbye

directed by Kate Voet & Victor Maes

A Long Goodbye is an animated, interactive VR experience following Ida, a 72-year-old pianist with dementia. As her reality fades, players interact with objects and recordings in her empty apartment, causing her world and memories of her beloved husband, Daniel, to be vividly drawn to life. A Long Goodbye is a poetic exploration of love and the emotional toll of dementia on two people who shared a lifetime.

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Year
2025
Format
Interactive VR Experience
Role
Director
Director
Kate Voet & Victor Maes
Awarded

Venice Immersive Achievement Prize

La Biennale di Venezia · 2025

Kate Voet and Victor Maes holding the Venice Immersive Achievement Prize on the red carpet of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival
Kate Voet and Victor Maes at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival

A Long Goodbye is an animated, interactive VR experience co-written and co-directed by Kate Voet and Victor Maes. Inside Ida’s emptying apartment, players handle the objects and recordings of a long marriage, and each interaction draws her world and her memories of her husband Daniel vividly back to life. The experience features the voices of Elizabeth Counsel, Richard Wells, Marlies Heuer and Derek de Lint, with an original score by composer Joep Beving.

The project was produced by Cassette for Timescapes (Belgium) with Valk Productions (Netherlands) and Tarantula (Luxembourg), developed through the Venice Gap Financing Market, and supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, the Creative Europe MEDIA programme, the Netherlands Film Fund and Film Fund Luxembourg, among others.

A Long Goodbye premiered in the Venice Immersive Competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where it received the Venice Immersive Achievement Prize. It went on to win the Cristal for the Best Immersive Work at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Agog Immersive Impact Award at SXSW, Best XR Film at Clermont-Ferrand, the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki and the International XR Award at the Prix NUMIX, and continues to travel to festivals including IDFA DocLab, Film Fest Gent and Fipadoc.

“We live in a world of forgetting. Places fade, our retention blurs, and even ourselves, that we once knew, can slowly disappear. Yet this animation gently reminds us that love often survives where memory cannot. Beneath loss and fading recollections, something enduring remains: a human connection capable of healing, guiding, and lighting the way home.”
Jury statement · Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026
A Long Goodbye: watercolor 3D render of a sunlit apartment corner with wooden table, chair, keyboard and arched window over rooftops
A Long Goodbye: soft painterly 3D render of an old kitchen with a pale fridge covered in photos, a microwave and potted plants
A Long Goodbye: painterly 3D render of a solitary grand piano on a hazy concert stage with butterflies drifting toward bright light

Credits

Directors
  • Kate Voet
  • Victor Maes
Cast
  • Elizabeth Counsel
  • Richard Wells
  • Marlies Heuer
  • Derek de Lint
Composer
  • Joep Beving
Art Director
  • Daniel Balage
CG Supervisor
  • Gael Chaize
Lead Developer
  • Polygoat
  • Frederik Smolders
Sound Designers
  • Game Audio Squad
  • Niels van der Leest
  • Lars Tesselaar
Additional 2D Animation
  • Pieter Vanluffelen
  • Mathieu Jadin
  • Tom Lemmens
Producers Belgium
  • Cassette for Timescapes
  • An Oost
  • Emmy Oost
Producers Netherlands
  • Valk Productions
  • Richard Valk
Producers Luxembourg
  • Tarantula
  • Donato Rotunno

Festivals

  • Venice Immersive Competition (IT)
  • Annecy International Animation Film Festival (FR)
  • SXSW (US) — North American Premiere
  • Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (FR)
  • Thessaloniki International Film Festival (GR) — Greek Premiere
  • IDFA Doclab (NL) — Dutch Premiere
  • NewImages (FR)
  • Film Fest Gent (BE) — Belgian Premiere
  • Fipadoc (FR) — French Premiere
  • Beijing International Festival
  • Busan International Short Film Festival
  • Filmfestival Oostende (BE)
  • Luxembourg City Film Festival (LUX)
  • Kaboom (NL)
  • Filmgate Interactive (US)
  • Cinetech, Maryland Film Festival (US)
  • Kortfilmfestival Leuven (BE)
  • Docfest Brugge (BE)
  • Breedbeeld Kortfilmfestival (BE)
  • Festival Internacional de Cine Guanajuato (MX)
  • Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (KR)
  • Krakow Film Festival (PL)
  • AWE Art (US)
  • Doc Edge (NZ)

Markets

  • Venice Gap Financing Market 2023
  • New Images XR Development Market 2023
  • Stereopsia Booster program 2022
  • VR Days Immersive Funding Market 2021
  • Torino Short Film Market VR Series 2020

With the Support Of

  • Flanders Audiovisual Fund - VAF (BE)
  • Creative Europe MEDIA programme (EU)
  • The Netherlands Film Fund (NL)
  • Film Fund Luxembourg (LUX)
  • deAuteurs (BE)
  • Pictanovo (FR)

Awards

  • Cristal for the Best Immersive Work2026

    Annecy International Animation Film Festival

  • Venice Immersive Achievement Prize2025

    La Biennale di Venezia

  • Agog Immersive Impact Award2026

    SXSW

  • Best XR Film2026

    Clermont-Ferrand

  • Golden Alexander2025

    Thessaloniki International Film Festival

  • Best in XR & Emerging Media2026

    Games for Change

  • International XR Award2026

    Prix NUMIX

  • Best 6DOF VR Short Film2026

    ShorTS International Film Festival

  • Best of Fest2026

    Filmgate Miami

  • Best Non-Fiction World2026

    XR Must Awards

  • Best Art Direction2025

    United XR Awards

  • Best Applied Game2025

    Belgian Game Awards

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