VR Days Europe begins today with a wealth of virtual reality (VR) content, exhibits and talks. As part of it the organisers have teamed up with the Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR) to present 10 immersive film projects this Friday.
Among the selected creators is the legendary American filmmaker Terrence Malick who will be presenting his work Evolver, which lets people experience the human condition from birth until death. Produced by animation/VR studio House of Secrets (KIN), the film includes original music from artists such as Wu-Tang Clan and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.
This isn’t Malick’s first VR experience however, as he made a six-minute piece called Together in partnership with Facebook. This did the festival rounds earlier this year, gracing SXSW and Tribeca Film Festival among others.
Additionally, two of the 10 projects will furthermore be invited to the 2019 edition of IFFR’s co-production market CineMart, next to two other VR projects which are yet to be selected.
VR Days Europe runs from today until 26th October. For further details keep reading VRFocus.
Full list of projects selected for presentation at VR Days Europe 2018:
- Clicks, Ate de Jong, The Netherlands, produced by Mulholland Pictures Utopian story set in 2084 in which people have to make the decision between happiness or freedom. Most choose happiness, some choose freedom.
- Cosmos Within Us, Tupac Martir, UK, produced by Satore Studio/Tech An immersive VR fiction telling the story of Aiken, a 60-year-old man who dives
into memories of his childhood in an effort to preserve them against his swiftly progressing Alzheimer’s. - Evolver, Terrence Malick, The Netherlands, produced by House of Secrets An immersive journey from birth to death. Featuring original music by major artists such as the Wu-Tang Clan and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood,Evolver explores the emotional arc of life. Experience what it feels like to be born, to grow up, to grow old, and to eventually die.
- The Imaginary Friend, Steye Hallema, The Netherlands, produced by Submarine Channel VR experience in which the viewer inhabits the role of the imaginary friend of a young boy, who does not understand why no one else can be his friend. A beautiful and heartbreaking tale of a boy’s shift from childhood to growing up.
- Inside Out XR, Charlotte Bruneau, Luxembourg, produced by a_BAHN Inside Out VR immerses you in the universe of domestic slavery in Lebanon and beyond. During this interactive VR experience, you find yourself in the shoes of a woman, the owner of a foreign, enslaved maid, who confronts you with her terrible dilemma: are you willing to oppress your maid to conform to patriarchal rules?
- Listening, Miloš Ljubomirović, Serbia, produced by Servia Film A visceral experience inside of a musician’s mind as he loses sight, has repeating nightmares, and struggles with his own existence.
- Mirage, Philipp Maas, Germany, produced by Scope Virtual Content Studio In Mirage, you set out to escape from the emptiness of the desert. The sun is burning ruthlessly above your head. You have no sense of direction or purpose. You feel completely lost when out of nowhere The Coachman appears, a mysterious character offering his help.
- Synesthesia VR, Rein Zobel, Estonia, produced by Maru VR Production Albrecht is a detective with sensitive powers. His sense of the world is extraordinary – a smell, sound or touch can ignite vivid images of different places and worlds. But this comes at a price – Albrecht is constantly looking for new ways to escape the dystopian routine of police work.
- The Water Cycle, Serge Dumont/Benoît Lichté, France, produced by Seppia A virtual reality experience filmed in 360° video that follows the water cycle and takes us into depths of the Rhine valley water table. The tone is both poetic and scientific, a unique diving experience that plunges us into cool, crystalline – and threatened – waters.
- Wormhole, Mads Damsbo, Denmark, produced by Makropol A multiplayer VR narrative with a timelock. Not unlike an Escape Room, audiences must work together and interact with their environment to prevent a black hole from swallowing the world through a vacuum decay. All within an hour
