The Imaginary Friend is a surrealistic interactive and cinematic Virtual Reality experience in which you, the viewer, are the fantasy of the main character. It’s an accessible and heartfelt story about a boy learning to deal with being different. The 7-year-old boy named Daniel with extremely vivid imagination has made a new friend: you, the spectator. The story is completely told from your point of view as this imaginary friend. You will be present in the story, through the imagination of the main character. At moments you might even feel responsible for him, since, because of you, he does things that cause him danger. 

Written and directed by Steye Hallema.

The Imaginary Friend is a surrealistic interactive and cinematic Virtual Reality experience in which you, the viewer, are the fantasy of the main character. The story is completely told from your point of view as this imaginary friend. You will be present in the story, through the imagination of the main character. At moments you might even feel responsible for him, since, because of you, he does things that cause him danger. The Imaginary Friend is a tale that can only be told in Virtual Reality and is the type of stories that should be told through this medium. It is about making people believe the impossible and making use of the magic of imagination. It is an experience that explores the new place of the spectator in immersive stories in a very clear manner, fully utilizing the altered sense of empathy that this feeling of being present in a virtual world can create and trying to involve the viewer as intimately as possible. 


The Imaginary Friend is a coproduction with Cassette for timescapes (Belgium)
in collaboration with Submarine Channel (NL) and  4DR Studios (NL),
Wildvreemd (NL), Demute (Be) and APVIS (NL). 


Status: in production
Expected in 2023

An interactive, cinematic Virtual Reality experience

The Imaginary Friend was presented as part of the Gap Financing Market at the Venice Biennale and VR DAYS Europe / IFFR PRO in 2018.