The Gate of Memories

The Gate of Memories (2020) is a live-action fantasy film written and directed by Wendel Berckmans. He also produced the film, starred as the main character and scored the soundtrack. The film began production in 2017 when Wendel Berckmans attended his first year of the animation course at the well known Sint-Lukas Brussel. The following three years the movie was shot, rewritten and edited simultaneously and finalized as Berckman's Bachelor-thesis. The movie was not well received by the Bachelors jury but got a cult status in the following years.

Openings: The Dragon
The film opens on Tristan riding his horse, Tristan's horse, through the forest. He is on a quest to slay the Giant Ice Dragon that has plagued Merrath for several days. When confronted with the dragon at the Old Windmill, he gets badly injured.

Meeting Kira
Wendel wakes up in the forrest, thinking this was all a dream. But when he stands up he notices that he can't move his arm properly and it makes a squeaking noice. He unbuttons his shirt and sees he's been transformed into a human/robot hybrid.

When, some time later, Kira (basic form), visits the place where Tristan woke up, he is gone. She is annoyed by this. Suddenly Tristan shows up, pointing his sword at her. She is even more annoyed now and tells him that she fixed him up after his confrontation with the dragon. He is confused.

Return to Merrath
The two return to Merrath, the capital of Merratharië, where Tristan's House is located. Meanwhile Bernard gets noticed by Sneaky Hat Guy, that Tristan is back in town. He returns to the town square where he meets Bernard, who the city hails as his new dictator because he claimed to slay the dragon. Angered with this, Tristan challenges him to a duel. One hour later, the duel starts and Tristan gets shot by Bernard and he falls on the ground. Luckily Tristan's steel chest plate saves him and Tristan is able to punch Bernard, knocking him out in the process.

The Bridge
When walking through the forrest, Kira explains how his human/robot hybrid condition works. She also tells him that she is on a quest to find Gate of Memories. Tristan, feeling like he owns her his life, agrees to come along with her on this quest through the mountains and fields of Merratharië.

When crossing The Squeaky Swamp, Kira decides to changes forms. Tristan is impressed by this so she tells him that she is actually 86 years old. When walking further through the swamp, they come across the Magical bridge that's guarded by the bridgekeeper named Wendelpoppemieke. She scares them off with laser blasts but Kira isn't impressed by this. Because she is also a genius, she decides to play "schipper mag ik overvaren?", so they could safely cross the bridge.

Jellyfish Forrest
Kira changes form once again, but now her voice is changed too. Never having had a lot sexual experiences in his life, Tristan is confused by this.

Glabados

Cast
Tristan - Wendel Berckmans Kira, basic form - Febe Vandepoel (Ymke Decat, voice)

Kira, second form - Emma Van Acker (Ymke Decat, voice)

Kira, third form - Astrid Neefs

Kira, final form - Elise De Beys

Gatekeeper - Eva Schram, voice

Bernard - Ruben Boddez

Rokerstemos Minionisch - Ismaël Bils (Wendel Berckmans, voice)

Wendelpoppemieke - Anna Degelin

Glabbados - Wendel Berckmans, voice

Zarratar the Pirate - Ruben Algoet

Dafnor - Danzel

Music
The official soundtrack of the film is entirely written and performed by Wendel Berckmans himself.

The title track, that plays during the credits, named fittingly "The Gate of Memories" is written by Wendel and performed by the pop-rock band Tragic Eyes.

Critical reception
At first the film wasn't received too well at the Sint-Lukas Brussel. Because it was a film targeting younger audiences, the elitist teachers didn't consider it to be art.

Audience reception
At first there wasn't much attention from major audiences. But slowly the film started to get picked up on the internet and started to become an underground hit. Today, some critics consider The Gate of Memories by Wendel Berckmans to be a true masterpiece in paracinema.