Metropolis

Metropolis by Fritz Lang is a 1927 science fiction film in which “the man and the machine” take centre stage. Just as Lang, a hundred years ago, envisioned a future for 2026, this project aims to present a vision for 2126 — shaped by the ideas and lived experiences of today’s youth.

The world is increasingly dominated by the rapid implementation of technological innovations. This lightning-fast development also compels young people to reflect: how do they see the world and humanity evolving under the growing impact of technology? What opportunities, desires, challenges and obstacles do they foresee?
And how can these reflections be developed into a powerful performance using theatre, music and technology?

With the Metropolis project, Madam Fortuna aims to explore this theme together with young people living in Antwerp, and to create a relevant and contemporary story in collaboration with organisations such as hetpaleis, Muziektheater Transparant, Tutti Fratelli, Arenberg, KASK Antwerp, de! Kunsthumaniora, DE SINGEL and BL!NDMAN.

As part of this initiative, BL!NDMAN will create a short musical performance with vulnerable young people from the youth programme of KRAS Berchem. These young participants will experiment with expressing and exploring vulnerable emotions — such as fear and anger — that they experience in response to the current state of the world and their perception of the future. These emotions will then be transformed into sound. Using various percussion instruments and smartphone-accessible technology, they will experiment with sound and music and shape their emotions into a musical narrative.

Metropolis will be a festival by and for young people. How do they envision the future with “the man and the machine”? A festival featuring podcasts, theatre, music, music theatre, workshops, debate, film, exhibitions, catwalks, spoken word, and dance.

When? Autumn 2026!