This film was conceived as a mirror of the festival itself. Us By Night is a place that breathes creativity in all its forms, where ideas collide, disciplines overlap and nothing exists in isolation. From the start, the intention was not to document the event, but to translate that energy into a film language of its own. Rather than following the familiar rhythm of an aftermovie, the project deliberately pushes against it. Fragments of the festival surface and disappear again, mixed with raw, informal conversations with speakers filmed in and around the site and along the Schelde River. Mixed media and tactile visuals sit next to unfiltered documentary moments. The camera stays present, sometimes intrusive, sometimes playful. Caviar gave us the creative freedom to fully lean into that approach. Taking those steps outside the expected path isn’t always frictionless. Pushing boundaries rarely goes hand in hand with comfort, especially when it challenges existing expectations, or habits. There is a certain irony in celebrating creativity while struggling to let it exist without control. This film doesn’t shy away from that tension, it carries it. On a personal level, this project became more than a commission. It turned into a shared conviction with a fiercely driven team of creatives who all went beyond what was asked, not to play safe, but to stand by an idea we believed in. Sometimes innovation means pushing through resistance. This film is the result of doing exactly that.