Equipping a brand new exhibition

In 2015, the COOP center moved to the banks of Anderlecht’s canal, inside a former industrial flour mill in the heart of a rapidly changing neighbourhood. Switch was asked to create a series of devices aiming to equip the neighbourhood’s discovery center.

Animated videos on social movements

We started by producing two informative videos about the birth of social movements in Brussels and the issue of the right to housing. We opted for a technique combining animation and archival photos, with a touch of humour on top.

Travelling through time on a barge

We then created an immersive installation allowing the visitor to cross the Brussels Canal on a barge… back in 1890. We projected an animated video reproducing the Canal’s surroundings on the walls and the ceiling of the center for a full immersion.

Aerial view of the Canal

Last but not least, Switch was asked to produce a video allowing the visitor to travel the Canal as it is today, by air. We used a drone to capture aerial images from the Canal’s mouth in Charleroi.

Birth of a militant project

The idea behind Copa Para Quem was born in late 2013 when reporter Maryse Williquet went to Brazil. There, she discovered a country buzzing with excitement and getting ready to host a historic event. However, she soon learned about another reality – one that the host country was trying to hide. That’s when she decided to embark on this crazy project. Switch decided to follow her and help her turn it into a reality.

An exciting human adventure

Maryse Williquet stayed for five months in the city of Fortaleza, the capital of one of the poorest states in Brazil. It gave her enough time to establish solid relationships with the “undesirable ones”, that the authorities seek to hide by kicking them out of the city, but also with those campaigning for the event to be managed differently. The Copa Para Quem movement was just being born and we were seeing it in real time.

An interactive transmedia project

We chose to approach this issue through the web documentary format, allowing the audience to discover it at its own pace, one theme at a time, with the possibility of deepening the experience. We also produced a 26-minute linear format for theatrical and TV screenings.

Crowdfunding

The project was quickly awarded a grant from the Fund for Journalism. To support this grant, we created a crowdfunding campaign on KissKissBankBank. That’s when we realised how much the audience was interested in this topic. Our campaign soon reached its goal; a genuine community was created around the project.

Festivals & Awards

• 2015 – Official Selection, Festival Résistances
• 2015 – Audience Award for Best Web Documentary, Millenium International Documentary Film Festival
• 2015 – Web Documentary Award, FIFE2015 – Festival International du Film d’Environnement
• 2014 – Official Selection, Liège Web Fest
• 2014 – Screening at « Week-end du Doc »
• 2019 – Muestra International Documental de Bogota

With the participation of the Fund for Journalism, the Belgo-Brazilian Committee, Pianofabriek, CNCD-11.11.11 and the newspaper Le Soir.