Experiencing Interruptions?

The Quest Begins

In an ancient Armenian kingdom, Prince Areg undertakes a perilous journey to find the mythical Bird of a Thousand Voices (Hazaran Blbul), whose enchanted song is believed to restore harmony and renew the spirit of his father’s grief-stricken realm.

  • Ruben Van Leer
    Director
    Symmetry
  • Philip M. Howe
    Writer
    The Occupant
  • Ruben Van Leer
    Producer
  • Samvel Tadevossian
    Key Cast
    "Areg"
    Bravo Virtuoso
  • Tigran Hamasyan
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 2, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Armenia
  • Country of Filming:
    Armenia
  • Language:
    Armenian
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri35
  • Aspect Ratio:
    3:2
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ruben Van Leer

Ruben Van Leer is an award-winning filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist whose work seamlessly blends cinema, music, theater, and digital technology to reimagine timeless narratives and uncover the unifying threads that connect humanity across time, culture, and technology. His acclaimed sci-fi dance-opera Symmetry (2015), filmed inside CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, earned 11 international awards, including the Golden Prague for Best Performance Arts, and is available on AppleTV. Recent works include The Bird of a Thousand Voices (2024), a transmedia stage work inspired by Armenian folklore, and Power of Water (2021), a climate-focused spectacle film broadcasted to 180 million Eurovision viewers. Van Leer’s innovative projects, such as Sacred Environment (2017), a VR and live music performance that won the Audience Award at the Holland Festival, and The Boxer (2018), an opera-film for Dutch National Opera, have been celebrated on global stages, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, NOWNESS, Teatro Grande Pompeii, and Ballet National de Marseille. As the artistic director of Truth.io, a platform for cross-media research, Van Leer continues to push the boundaries of artistic innovation, blending ancient myths with modern science to craft transformative cross-media experiences that inspire wonder and reflection.

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Director Statement

My work is a call to transformation—a quest to rekindle our sense of wonder and reconnect with the unifying threads that bind humanity across time, culture, and technology. By fusing storytelling, embodiment, music, and innovation, I create immersive settings where imagination and reality can collide. In Symmetry, filmed at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, I explored love, creation, and the universal building blocks that connect us all. Works like Sacred Environment and The Bird of a Thousand Voices reimagine timeless narratives through cutting-edge technology, bridging cultural divides and inspiring reflection. Whether addressing ecological challenges in the spectacle film Power of Water or the fragility of memory in Sound of Light, my goal is to spark transformation, compassion, and action. In an era of technological dominance and environmental urgency, art must ask: How might we rediscover humility and reconnect with the cosmos, with each other, and with ourselves? How can ancient and modern stories guide us through the complexities of our shared future? In a fragmented world, art holds the power to transcend boundaries, amplify diverse voices, and unravel new possibilities for humanity.