China is one of the largest growth markets for virtual reality (VR), with several new companies emerging from the region. One of those is iQIYI Inc, an online entertainment service for the Chinese market. The company has revealed that its original VR short film ‘The Last One Standing VR’ has been shortlisted for an award at the famous Venice International Film Festival.
The Last One Standing VR is the story of a future world where humans and robots fight each other to death or destruction, incorporating elements of Chinese culture along with strong cyberpunk influences.
The short film is presented in first-person perspective for more immediacy, and was filmed in one single, long take. The Last One Standing VR is the first Chinese sci-fi VR film to be recognised by the Venice Film Festival.
The Venice Film Festival is one of a growing number of arts and entertainment festivals which is including immersive entertainment. The Venice Film Festival has a VR category in its competition, something that was introduced as of 2017.
The Last One Standing VR will get its official premiere at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, after which it will also be shown at Digital Domain Space, China’s largest offline VR cinema.
“Virtual reality and augmented reality have the potential to change the nature of the entertainment industry, and iQIYI is proud to be at the forefront of this revolution,” said Duan Youqiao, Senior Vice President at iQIYI. “The critical acclaim received by our original VR production ‘The Last One Standing VR‘ is evidence that we are on the right track, and we will continue to find ways to offer viewers a more immersive entertainment experience, through both producing the highest quality VR content and further developing our cutting-edge VR technology.”
The 75th Venice Film Festival is due to take place from 29th August until 8th September, further information can be found on the official website. As usual, VRFocus will be sure to bring you the latest on new and upcoming VR projects.