The Desert of the Real
- Directed by
- Luuk Bouwman
- Duration
- 109 min.
- Year
- 2025
- Language
- Dutch
What happens to someone in the midst of psychosis? Six individuals with lived experience talk candidly in front of the camera about what they went through: from loneliness, anxiety, and confusion, to creativity, euphoria, and existential insights.
The Desert of the Real at the Cineville Preview Days
Documentary filmmaker Luuk Bouwman (The Propagandist, Gerlach) is back with a portrait of psychosis that’s both powerful and insightful. In The Desert of the Real, he takes us into the inner world of six people who lived through psychosis. The title refers to The Matrix, in which tech-hero Neo awakens from a simulated world and is welcomed to 'the desert of the real'. The film premiered at IDFA 2025, where it instantly became a major audience favourite. We’ve been longing to see it on Cineville screens since then, so catch it during the Cineville Preview Days!
