12/02/2025 - The winner of the Eurimages New Lab: Innovation Award tells us more about his exploration of consent, privacy and intimacy in the digital sphere

(© Niels Knelis)

Dutch director Robin Coops’ One Charming Night, a fictional 2D musical film completely filmed in VRChat, recently won the Eurimages New Lab: Innovation Award, worth €20,000, at IFFR (see the news). The main production company involved is Studio Biarritz, with Coops & Co serving as a co-producer. Coops told Cineuropa about the unique characteristics of his project as well as its next steps.

Cineuropa: Can you tell us about the key elements of the film? What makes One Charming Night different from anything similar done before?
Robin Coops: One Charming Night is a film about identity, where loneliness drives the search for connection through intimacy. We reflect on themes such as intimacy, sexuality and consent in virtual words. In a time when technology and intimacy are often merging, it is important to raise questions about both the positive and the negative aspects. The virtual realms give different communities a space to explore when expressing themselves might be more difficult in the physical space they live in. Talking about sexuality in general is often still a taboo, while it's important to openly talk about what we like and dislike, also in the virtual realms. At the same time, we often don’t know who the real person is behind the avatar, the costume, the mask. We also might forget that there is a real person behind the costume or mask, so a virtual touch is also a real touch; the mind is being touched.

One Charming Night is a fiction film, filmed on a virtual platform with virtual cameras. We have seen films recorded in game engines before, although these are mainly documentaries. We play with the subject of what is real or not, around an important theme that needs to be discussed in times where conservatism is restricting minds.

In the director’s statement, you talk about the format of the film – you opt for classic 2D, but with a strong VR influence. Can you tell us more about this, and also about the musical side?
We chose the 2D format in order to reach a broader audience. Technology is merging more and more with our bodies. It's important to raise questions about these technologies together as consumers. There is a possibility that all that happens in reality also happens in the virtual realm. We need to prepare ourselves in advance for how we want to live with these technologies and what our position will be. Those who are in immersive media might question some of these subjects already, but I think it's important to reach not only the VR community, but also those who might, in the near future, be affected by these subjects.

The musical part of the film is indeed important. On the topic of sensuality and sexuality, we want to touch the body, so we want the film to be tactile. The spoken word is the mind trying to make sense of the situation, although the almost hypnotic music helps to connect with the body.

What was the most important thing you learned at IFFR, considering you are at a delicate stage with the production? What kind of impact do you think this form of recognition will have on the future of your project?
We are very grateful for this boost to the project. The prize shows how important it is to talk about such themes at this particular time. It also shows that we don’t have to think about what filmmaking is according to strict boundaries. I come from a multidisciplinary background. Filmmaking is thinking through images; it doesn’t matter if you use a big camera, an iPhone or a virtual camera to create your work. It’s about your theme and what form best suits the story you want to share with the world. This prize is a recognition that we can think beyond the boundaries, and I hope it will add to the beautiful conversations we have had with other filmmakers, distributors, festivals and co-producers, allowing us to realise the project in its full form.

How do you plan on spending the €20,000 from the prize in order to facilitate the next steps?
The money will be used for further script development and the production of additional test scenes. For this (and, later on, for the production of the movie), we also want to collaborate with the VRChat community on the project, specifically on things such as creating and designing the right avatars for our film, as well as designing additional virtual worlds and spaces within VRChat. We also want to extend our collaboration with virtual camera operators and actors that are already active within the virtual platforms.

Do you have any news to share about the near future? Are you looking into other markets for the film?
We are open to international collaborations also because of the very essence of the project, which is about boundaries and fluidity. As we are working with an international cast and crew, it would be great to extend this into the other departments of the filmmaking process. At the same time, we are just beginning to refine the script, the financing and the production plan. We hope to start filming at the end of the year.