ArtScience alum Finn Stevenhagen (2023) won the Gouden Kalf for Best Digital Culture Production 2026 at the 46th Netherlands Film Festival (Nederlands Film Festival) for his project Graves' End, congratulations Finn!
Stevenhagen graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 2023; his winning expanded cinema installation, Graves' End, is his first new work since graduating.
About Graves' End
Graves’ End is an expanded cinema installation, a fictional story set on the Isle of Man in 1349. The work follows the aftermath of the plague on the island, seen through the eyes of a boy grappling with shame over his sexual awakening.
Although Viking rule ended in 1266, the culture and religion remain strongly influenced by their traditions, and a religious hybrid of Norse paganism and Catholicism has emerged. The boy mistakes a raven for Huginn—the servant and messenger of the Norse god Odin—and seeks forgiveness and redemption from it, unaware that the bird can do nothing but reflect his own guilt.
Graves’ End forms a unified whole whose individual elements cannot be isolated. Plot and
narrative are separated: the projection functions as a background—a series of moments
presented as tableaux vivants—while the work’s voice is confined to the animatronics.
Jury statement
Through a combination of projection, sound design, and animatronics, the installation condenses eight days from the first year of the plague (1349) into a grim, immersive experience. The repetitive narrative becomes a metaphor for the echo chambers of AI and algorithm-driven storytelling: we see our own beliefs and fears reflected back at us. Precisely for this reason, it is significant that the work itself was created entirely without the use of AI.
The jury appreciates the work’s internal cohesion; film, sculpture, movement, and atmosphere combine to form a powerful, painterly whole. The various elements reinforce one another, creating a world that is both tangible and enchanting. It is a piece that engages all the senses, gets under your skin, and draws you in.
With its subtle, recurring motifs, the work invites a variety of interpretations. The spatial arrangement also offers the viewer great freedom: you can find your own path, shift your focus, and immerse yourself in this magical world in your own way. This makes the experience personal and inviting.
Particularly impressive is the mastery of both digital techniques and physical materials, as well as the attention paid to the finest details. Graves’ End commands attention not by shouting, but by whispering.
Storyspace exhibition
Digital culture can be experienced at the Storyspace exhibition, which focuses on stories presented as games, VR experiences, performances, or installations. Storyspace remains open to visitors until Thursday 1 October at the publicly accessible Neude Library. The winner will be announced this coming Friday evening 2 October during the EY Golden Calf Gala.