Erscheinungen (Apparitions)

Belgian performance artist Diederik Peeters dusts off mankind‘s age-old desire for immortality. In “Erscheinungen”, he takes another shot at finally and irrefutably proving the existence of ghosts.
With the 19th century’s technical achievements, the possibility of having voices resound without a body, fantasies of the existence of ghosts reached a new dimension. In his quest for the alleged correlation between the disembodied voice, death and life after death, Diederik Peeters explores the past and the future. In the guise of a spiritualist, he dives deep into the 19th century, mixing with prominent scientists and exploring the fantasies and mysteries surrounding popular new inventions like the phonograph. At the same time, he catapults himself to the end of the 21st century to find out which technological developments might be used to awaken the dead and to give ghosts and spirits access to bodies. Navigating between history and science fiction, between skepticism and confidence, Peeters sets out on a ghost hunt that will lead him through dark and damp tunnels. Science blends with magic, technology with horror. And if he manages to complete his training as a medium in time, he promises to raise some historical characters from the dead and to send them on an expedition together with the audience.