In the Mist
Tung-Yen Chou / TW, 2021 / 25 min.
Dreamlike, poetic virtual reality experience, set in a gay sauna. In a dimly lit room filled with mist, blurred figures of men emerge, desiring intimacy yet caught in moments of solitude.
Entering a misty gay sauna through a VR headset, you are transported to a forbidden zone in a liminal state between dreaming and awakening, a place in which you observe and are observed. Taiwanese director Chou Tung-Yen revisits the often-unspoken life experience of gay communities and subcultures, exploring this male environment through a poetic lens to explore the diverse kinds of love and connection that emerge from (erotic) desire.
In the Mist transports you into a space that resembles a dream. Queer sauna experiences are shrouded in mystery for many, and this film allows you to explore this otherwise hidden space in a distinctly immersive fashion. Working across mediums like theatre and film, Chou Tung-Yen takes viewers on a journey through a space that has seldom been explored in virtual media.
Chou Tung-Yen: “I think that the great power of VR lies in its ability to take us to places we could otherwise never go to, like someone’s dream or memories, a very deep ocean, or outer space. But other than these ‘spectacular scenes’, I think that VR should really be a mind game that plays with your brain and your senses. It should be sensual and visceral!”
Previously featured at the Venice International Film festival, Queer East Film Festival and Locarno Film festival, In the Mist is now presented at Eye Filmmuseum for three consecutive days, from 16 through 18 July. The experience is accompanied by a new poem by writer and poet Luke Worthy, in dialogue with In the Mist.
In the Mist is part of the programme Architectures of Intimacy, curated by Kato van der Speeten.
Please note: the VR experience contains nudity and explicit sex scenes. Viewer discretion is advised; 16+ recommended.
In collaboration with art cooperative Espacio Estamos Bien, an installation will be presented in the bathrooms near the box office, which will be opened with a live performance on 16 July at 20:30.
This is part of
Details
Director
Tung-Yen Chou
Production year
2021
Country
TW
Length
25 min.
Part of
Programmers of the Future 2025
Three new Programmers of the Future present their film programmes in Eye Filmmuseum this July. With films about the magic of a spontaneous encounter in a public space, about folklore, fairy tales and mythology, and about memory as an act of resistance.
Eye Film Player
Programmer of the Future Kato van der Speeten selected several films to watch at home, including Metal and Melancholy by Heddy Honigmann and Simone van den Broek’s Haarzaak. The films will be available from 8 July.
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