For the past couple of years, the Sundance Film Festival has shown its willingness to engage with new types of media, including virtual reality (VR), 360-degree video and other types of immersive media. This continues with the Sundance New Frontier Program, which will be featuring a new project from 1stAveMachine.
The latest VR project from 1stAveMachine is a CGI animated film called Battlescar, starring acclaimed actress Rosario Dawson and directed by filmmakers Nico Casavecchia and Martin Allais. The creators of the new experience have drawn on their own personal history as being part of Latin American immigrant families to weave a complex narrative about identity, coming of age and nostalgia.
The story of Battlescar follows a Puerto-Rican-American called Lupe, a runaway living in New York City in 1978. After falling foul of the authorities, Lupe meets another teen called Debbie in a Juvenile Detention Centre. Debbie introduces Lupe to the growing Punk Rock scene of the Bowery and the Lower East Side, where Lupe discovers an entirely new world where she can explore her identity and the visceral power of punk rock.
The Sundance Film Festival is due to take place on 18th-28th January, 2018 at Park City in Utah. The New Frontier Program that Battlescar is a part of will be front and centre during the festival, showcasing what the Sundance organisers describe as a crossroads of film, art and technology.
Battlescar will be shown during New Frontier at The Ray, which will only be available to specific ticket holders, and will also be shown at New Frontier at Kimball Arts Center, where it will be open to all credential holders, space permitting.
Further information can be found at the Sundance Film Festival website.
VRFocus will continue to report on new and innovative VR projects.
