OTHERWORLDS

Sophia Bulgakova

OTHERWORLDS is a contemporary embodiment of an ancient pagan Ukrainian ritual, which honours the cyclical patterns of nature witnessed in the transition of seasons and, with it, the ever-changing flow of life. Following the passage from spring to summer, natural entities such as flowers, trees and ephemeral spaces will act as your guiding spirits through a cycle of communal growth and rebirth. Modern XR technologies bring to life engraved symbols, the scenic sounds of ancient instruments and ritual songs like Vesnyanky and Rusalni pisni.

Here, there are no answers - your unique journey of movement and sensory experience connects everything. OTHERWORLDS is inspired by the spiritual link between humans and nature, as in pre-Christian times when certain rituals helped bring people closer together in communities. As an audience, you are invited to enter a ritualistic world where the experience of an altered reality invites you to move with others, in a dance between the present and the past. Rather than explaining specific cultural origins the ritual focuses on offering audiences an empowering, communal experience.

Through this, director Sophia Bulgakova not only keeps Ukrainian heritage and knowledge alive, but protects the power of sacred transformative experiences worldwide. At our present time when most indigenous practices are threatened with extinction by the modern world and invasive forces, this experience offers us the radical ability to remember the self-repeating cycles of life.

Project Collaborators:

Team: Director & Artist: Sophia Bulgakova Creative development: Leonardo Scarin & Harm van de Ven Sound design: Mark IJzerman Narration: Sophia Bulgakova & Uliana Bun Scenography: Maarten Keus Light Design: Nick Mansveld Choreography: Maria Sartzetaki Headset mask design: Sasha Popruga & Oleksandr Manukians Cultural & artistic advisor: German Popov, Maria Saridaki, Mariia Pomomarova Poster Design: Ievgen Velychev Producer & distributor: FIBER Distribution: Marieke Nooren OTHERWORLDS is created by Sophia Bulgakova and produced and distributed by FIBER. The project was developed with the support of the Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, and iMAL—Centre for Digital Cultures and Technology.