Amsterdam-based artist and director Ruben Van Leer’s latest film is a high-energy portrait of professional tenor and amateur boxer Frank Engel, made in collaboration with the Dutch National Opera with the aim of attracting a different audience into its drama-filled world. Here, Van Leer talks about the story behind the film:

"This film is about the courageousness of self-expression. A battle with the self is the ultimate revolution. Frank is a boxer and a tenor in the chorus of Amsterdam’s Dutch National Opera. In the film he’s fighting his demon, a shadow of himself. 

"His fear of going on stage is bigger than that of death, of finally letting his voice be heard to the public and mastering his art. I wanted to make a tiny opera film: an existential theme that resonates within the streets, outside of theatre walls."