In the creation of SHE 2.0, sound artist Matt Benyayer teamed up with Director Rijko Fernandez to create a poetic portrait of the Amsterdam-based Filipino–Dutch dancer Wennah Wilkers, who co-directed.
The narrative behind the body of work is of Wennah in pursuit of her artistic identity—diving into her personal experiences, inspirations, cultural influences and values. Finding a loss of connectedness through strained family relationships, she uses dance as a way to convey her feelings and find deep connections with herself, others and the moment.
The connections Wennah finds are those linked to her present and her past. Her present being her dance crew XGEN. Her past being her mother, who she has dedicated this film to. Her solo performance titled ‘SHE’ is inspired by her mother’s journey and life.
Wennah Wilkers, '[my mother], as a young woman, migrated alone to Europe for work in order to provide for her family in the Philippines. She experienced hardships and was not treated fairly. She eventually lost herself in her fears and thoughts. I’m scared because I have experienced how my mother lost herself, that the same will happen to me.'
Sound Artist, Matt Benyayer, 'The soundtrack came together in quite an organic way. After reading the subtitles and watching the film on mute with Wennah a few times I started to hear ideas in my head.
I wanted to see how sound design could enhance the abstract nature of certain scenes so the audio became quite experimental in parts to reflect this. The film also features rhythmic tracks with intros and outros that have been morphed to complement the emotional and physical flow within the dance scenes and leading up to them.'
ROLE
Dedicated to
“This documentary is dedicated to my mother who recently passed away. She will always be my biggest inspiration in life and art. Her values and legacy will be shared through my language and message. Forever in my heart.”
Concept
Wennah Wilkers & Rijko Fernandez
Directors
Wennah Wilkers & Rijko Fernandez
Dancers
Wennah Wilkers
XGEN
Sharani Sowikromo
Kelly Bigirindavy
Hassani Le Couvreur
Irfan Bayu
Joel Westerveld
Romario Almeida Gomez
Argil Randon
Director of photography
Rijko Fernandez
Additional Cinematography
René Huwaë
Editor
Rijko Fernandez
Colourist
René Huwaë
Music
Matt Benyayer (Dark Sky)
Special thanks to
Julian Wilkers
Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie
MAAS Theater en Dans
Dansateliers