When her father is diagnosed with a chronic form of cancer, a young filmmaker inducts him into a sci-fi adventure about a distant planet where time stands still. Insomnia presents a stirring hybrid feature about the power of fiction to ward off a fear of darkness.
Whirling through the solar system is a physics-defying planet named Insomnia where time stands still. When an elderly artist is diagnosed with incurable cancer, his doctor suggests a visit to this celestial body as a way of stemming the progression of the disease. With the help of his filmmaker daughter, the artist prepares for a momentous interplanetary journey.
Co-directed by Vita Soul Wilmering and her father Luuk Wilmering, Insomnia is a moving hybrid feature that interweaves a quaint sci-fi tale with a documentary portrait of a tender filial bond. Father and daughter look at old photographs together, take long walks in nature, speculate about past decisions and bask in each other’s company. They also turn their painful reality into an empowering space adventure, the fiction serving as both a ruse for the duo to spend more time together and a spell that keeps grief at bay. Insomnia charts the intimate space of the present shared by the two characters, unfolding as a series of moments of care nestled between a rocky past and an uncertain future.
– Srikanth Srinivasan
Also in this combined programme
-
Dear Orchid
A lyrical evocation, through children’s writing, of a 1992 journey away from war-torn Sarajevo.
Film details
- Country of production
- Netherlands
- Year
- 2026
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2026
- Length
- 64'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
Shows of "Insomnia"
-
LantarenVenster 2
This screening consists of the following films:
- Dear Orchid
- Insomnia
In-personwith Q&AEnglish subtitledSoon available -
LantarenVenster 6
This screening consists of the following films:
- Dear Orchid
- Insomnia
In-personwith Q&AEnglish subtitledSoon available -
Podium Islemunda – Theaterzaal
This screening consists of the following films:
- Dear Orchid
- Insomnia
In-personwith Q&AEnglish subtitledSoon available -
KINO 4
This screening consists of the following films:
- Dear Orchid
- Insomnia
In-personwith Q&AEnglish subtitledSoon available