The Vancouver International Film Festival was one of the earliest film festivals to begin embracing and exploring immersive media such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Since 2014 the festival has had VR content, and now it will be expanding its VR program with the inaugural VIFF Immersed conference and public exhibition.
The New Realities in Storytelling Conference is a high-level event which is focussed on artistic execution and commercial market viability, while BC Immersed is a day of workshops aimed at producers, directors and content commissioners who want to get involved with immersive production.
The VIFF Immersed Exhibition, meanwhile, is a three-day public event which will feature a range of AR, VR and mixed reality (MR) experiences using a wide variety of immersive technology platforms. The aim is to showcase the most important creators, platforms and technologies in the developing industry.
“VIFF’s mission is to celebrate excellence in screen-based storytelling. And while the technologies of content consumption and creation have changed over time, story remains king. Immersive content, whether displayed inside a head mounted display, on a dome or on a mobile phone or computer, brings innovations in storytelling,” said Jacqueline Dupuis, VIFF’s Executive Director. “By the numbers, BC is one of the top immersive content ecosystems in the world. Our proximity to the Cascadia region, a hotbed for creative-tech, and our reach down the West Coast into Silicon Valley and LA, make for a strong value proposition for creators, producers and tech sector to participate in this opportunity to further the advancement of the medium.”
The New Realities in Storytelling Conference is due to take place on 29th September, BC Immersed on 30th September and VIFF Immersed Exhibition from 30th September to 2nd October.
Further information about the VIFF Immersed events can be found on the Vancouver International Film Festival website. For future coverage on upcoming VR-related events, keep checking back with VRFocus.