Raindance Film Festival is one of the biggest and most recognisable international film festivals, and it is also one that has embraced immersive experiences, which includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Raindance has now confirmed the line-up for its immersive strand, the Raindance Immersive Stories and Interactive Worlds.
The event will be held between Thursday 4th and Sunday 7th October. The selection will feature 33 VR experiences, many of which will feature well-known directors and performers such as Elijah Wood, who is appearing in surreal VR experience Transference and Dame Judi Dench, who will be in My Oak Tree VR.
17 VR experiences will get their world premiere, including a feature-length cinematic VR experience called 7 Miracles, which has been produced by Vive Studios. The experience has been nominated for the Grand Jury Prize: Best Immersive Story at the festival.
The selected 33 VR experiences have been nominated for Raindance Immersive Stories Awards, across a full 10 categories:
- Best Interactive Narrative Experience
- Best Animation Experience
- Best Cinematic Experience
- Best Documentary Experience
- Best Social Impact Experience
- Best Music Experience
- Best Multi-Person Experience
- Discovery Award: Best Debut Experience
- British Award: Best UK Experience
- Grand Jury Prize: Best Immersive Story
In order to keep up with the change in the film industry, and the developing technology of the immersive sector, the festival introduced a new award, Best Multi-Person Experience, which attempts to show what the future of immersive storytelling may be like.
The ten winners will be selected by an international panel of jury members, taken from all across the film industry.
The Raindance Film Festival will begin on Wednesday 26th September, and run until Sunday 7th October. Further information, including the full list of Raindance Immersive Stories is available on the Raindance Film Festival website.
Future coverage on film festivals with a VR or immersive element will be here on VRFocus.