When the Chair Fell Into the Void
DUTCH PREMIERE
A poetic documentary where the experience of migration and the search for identity is explored through dance.
When the Chair Fell Into the Void is a hybrid film blending documentary and dance. Anonymous migrants, forced to flee their countries, express their feelings of disconnection and question notions of identity and belonging. Their untold stories emerge in an urban landscape, while the movements of masked dancers are guided by emotions and cathartic memories.
SCREENINGS
Saturday 7 November 18:30 (New Talents Competition 1)
Director Julia Kushnarenko will be present for a Q&A
Programme section(s): New Talents Competition
Original title: When the Chair Fell Into the Void | Year: 2026 | Runtime: 25′
Country: Belgium, Hungary, Portugal | Language: English, Spanish | Subtitles: English
Cast: Paula Madrid, Mike van Alfen, Maria Zhi Tortosa Soriano, Samuel De Lille
Director: Julia Kushnarenko | Production: Julie Freres – Dérives | Screenplay: Julia Kushnarenko | Cinematography: Victoire Bonin Grais | Editing: Julia Kushnarenko
FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION)
Millenium Film Festival, 2026 | Beyond Borders, Κastellorizo International Documentary Festival, 2026 – Golden Phoenix Award | MPArt Festival, 2026 | FORM, Festival of Recorded Movement, 2026 | Nice Dance Film, 2026 | Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival, 2026 | Moving Body – Moving Image Festival, 2026 | Decolonizing Frames, 2026
DIRECTOR’S BIO
Julia Kushnarenko grew up in a small city in the North Caucasus. For over eight years, she worked as an editor on documentaries. Her mid-length film Terra has won over 15 awards from multiple international film festivals. In 2022 she was granted a scholarship by DocNomads International Master’s Course in Documentary Film directing to make films between Portugal, Hungary and Belgium. Currently, Julia is based in Belgium.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
I left my country over two years ago. My past life has nearly vanished, while my new one lacks a clear form, making a sense of belonging feel distant. To understand this journey, I began interviewing others who experienced migration, hoping to find faith that feelings of desire, guilt, pain and homesickness would fade, and a new life would begin. Yet, each story revealed the complexity and endless nature of this process. I turned to physical theatre and dance as a language to express the deep contradictions each person faces.
