HD video 16:9
Colour, Non spoken
31'56"
In SERIAL DRUMMER GIRLS, as in much of Koen Theys's work, live performance serves as a foundational element, giving way to a complex cinematic exploration.
For this piece, Theys assembled a group of thirty young women, including percussionists and vocalists, staging them on a set purpose-built to enhance the film’s visual and auditory impact. The music, specifically Western atonal and modern classical compositions, plays a central role in the work. In seeking to merge sound and image seamlessly, Theys collaborated with ChampdAction, a pioneering platform with extensive experience in multidisciplinary, experimental sound-based productions, lending a nuanced depth to the film’s sonic landscape.
SERIAL DRUMMER GIRLS represents the concluding chapter in Theys’s so-called Zombie Trilogy, a series of films where music acts as the structural backbone, yet is stripped of its original social and cultural contexts. The trilogy opens with Death Fucking Metal, which draws on rock and heavy metal, moves through My Dragon Brother, focused on traditional Chinese opera, and culminates with Serial Drummer Girls. Each genre presented in the trilogy retains its recognisable form, yet, devoid of its initial vitality and meaning, exists as a hollow, “zombified” shell.
This detachment emphasises the work’s critique on the hollowing of contemporary cultural symbols, rendering the musical genres as relics stripped of the original energies and ideologies they once embodied. Through this meticulously staged, sonically immersive work, Theys invites viewers to consider the spectral presence of culture's forgotten meanings, preserved yet strangely bereft of life in the echo chambers of modern media.
Credits:
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Produced by Escautville and ChampdAction
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Coproduced by deSingel
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With the support of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF)
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Concept, Cinematography and Editing: Koen Theys
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Executive Producers: Pauline Jocque, Vincent Stroep
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Musical advice: Serge Verstockt
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Coaching percussion: Marcel Andriessen
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Coaching voices: Rolande Van der Paal
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Voices: Noemie Beeldens, Ana Naqe
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Musical Hostesses: Camilla Ardui, Maïly Beyrens, Lisa Deckers, Birgit Eecloo, Zoë Hannebau, Fay Herregodts, Juicy Dune IJsselmuiden, Karolien Jansen, Regina Janzen,Olga Kunicka, Clara Lissens, Céline Mathieu, Frederike Migom, Yemo Park, Anouk Peeters, Sophy Ribrault, Valgerður Sigurðardóttir, Yinthe Toussaint, Muriel Garcia Urquidi, Lissa Van der Auwera, Myrthe Van der Mark, Yasmin Van Der Rauwelaert, Annelies Van Dinter, Liese van Hove, Lore van Roelen, Ianthe van Veen, Sari Veroustraete
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Camera: Ilke De Vries, Vincent Hagnauer, Koen Theys, Stef Van Looveren
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Sound design: Istvan Leel-Lôssy
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Costumes: Andrea Kränzlin, Bas Bossaerts en Amber de Saeger
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Make-Up: Kaatje Van Damme
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Hair dressing: Evie Hamels
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Stage: Omgevingen bvba
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Assistant: Rogier de Maker
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Light preparation: Christophe Vancraenenbroeck, Pim Loos, Ivo Steurs, Dimitri Daggelinckx, Sam Windmolders, Philip De Witte
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Light performance: Dimitri Daggelinckx, Philip De Witte, Ivo Steur
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Catering: Poor Pepi
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Set photography: Elly Strik
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Percussion instruments by deFilharmonie, Nationaal Orkest van België
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Video screens by Vidi-Square
Screenings:
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2016: Beursschouwburg, Brussels (BE)
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2016: De Singel, Antwerp (BE)