Winter of Machines (2026)

In *Winter of Machines*, the ghost of Futurism meets the fading industrial soul of Charleroi. Filmmaker Jan Locus is captivated by Fernand Steven’s mural *Evocation of Chemistry* (1936–1938)—a bold tribute to science, industry, and human ambition. Yet instead of celebrating progress, Locus contrasts that gleaming vision with the Belgian city’s present-day reality, shadowed by poverty and joblessness. By weaving between raw footage of Charleroi and the mural’s shimmering ideals, the film traps time in a strange, suspended state. Els Viaene’s sound design deepens this spectral mood—haunting, hollow, yet eerily alive. Refusing to side with a broken dream or an uncertain tomorrow, *Winter of Machines* breathes both sorrow and suspense.