Biennale Internazionale di Venezia (Venice International Film Festival) is one of the most recognized film festivals in the world where thousands of directors, producers, and critics gather to see the latest movies. This year during the 74th Biennale Internazionale di Venezia, the festival has announced that they’ll be including virtual reality into their official selections category where VR directors and content creators will be recognized for their astounding work. And out of the first 22 nominated experiences, 3 of them belong to Future Lighthouse.
Future Lighthouse founder Nicolás Alcalá leads the way as the first VR director with two projects in competition, the animated narrative MELITA and the Sony produced SNATCH VR HEIST EXPERIENCE which was co-directed by Rafa Pavón. The third nominated immersive film is THE ARGOS FILE which will be co-produced by Cinaptic.
“There’s not such a thing as coincidence” comments Alcalá when asked about the partnership between Cinaptic and Future Lighthouse to produce the full THE ARGOS FILE experience. “There is an opportunity to define how storytelling and distribution needs to evolve to accommodate the new medium, it’s all about deeply immersive and well thought out content with a fully Transmedia cross platform strategy” .
THE ARGOS FILE teaser previously garnered last year’s Proto Award for Best Live Action Experience. The project was produced in collaboration with NOKIA and Emmy nominated immersive experience company Magnopus.
About The VR Experience:
THE ARGOS FILE is a live-action, character driven, sci-fi experience that puts the viewer in the role of a homicide detective in the near future, solving crimes by examining the memories of the dead. It’s a leap forward on what’s been done to date in VR narratives: a Feature length, interactive VR film with different narratives adapted to every VR platform, along with an ambitious push on different technologies such as six degrees of freedom, interactivity and volumetric video, all combined in a project that can change the VR landscape.
SNATCH VR HEIST EXPERIENCE is an interactive experience in coproduction with Sony Crackle, starring Rupert Grint and Luke Pasqualino. The viewers will join a group of hustlers who attempt to break into the sage of Sonny Castillo, and will be able to decide whether or not to keep on cracking the safe or make an escape before the police arrive.
MELITA is a 18 minutes animation experience about Anaaya, an Inuit brilliant female scientist who is appointed to find a planet that humans can inhabit. Melita, an advanced AI, is sent to help her on the task. Together, they will embark on a journey against time and preconceptions to save humanity from extinction. Melita is the first chapter of a trilogy, the second part has been selected in the Venice GapFinancing Market.
“We are also incredibly honored to have a third piece in competition: Melita is a unique 18 minute animated experience about an advanced AI appointed to find a planet that humans can inhabit. The short film pushes the boundaries of cinematic narratives, main reason why Oculus decided to acquire exclusive rights for the premiere of the piece. ” said Alcalá.
The Venice International Film Festival will be taking place on Aug 30th through Sep 9th.
The 22 VR Experiences in competition:
MELITA
by NICOLÁS ALCALÁ
Animation film / USA / 24’ / Oculus Stand Up
LA CAMERA INSABBIATA
by LAURIE ANDERSON, HSIN-CHIEN HUANG
Animation film / USA / 20’ / Installation
THE LAST GOODBYE
by GABO ARORA, ARI PALITZ
USA / 20’ / Installation
MY NAME IS PETER STILLMAN
by LYSANDER ASHTON, LEO WARNER
Animation film / Great Britain / 6’ / Oculus Stand Up
ALICE, THE REALITY PLAY
by MARIE JOURDREN, MATHIAS CHELEBOURG
with Robin Berry, Josh Jefferies / France / 20’ / Installation
ARDEN’S WAKE (EXPANDED)
by EUGENE YK CHUNG
Animation film / USA / 16’ / Oculus Stand Up
GREENLAND MELTING
by NONNY DE LA PEÑA, CATHERINE UPIN, JULIA CORT, RANEY ARONSON-RATH
USA / 11’ / Vive Stand Up
DONGDUCHEON (BLOODLESS)
by GINA KIM
South Korea, USA / 12’ / VR Theater
NOTHING HAPPENS
by URI KRANOT, MICHELLE KRANOT
Animation film / Denmark, France / 14’ / Vive Stand Up
SHI MENG LAO REN (THE DREAM COLLECTOR)
by MI LI
Animation film / China / 11’ / Oculus Stand Up
SNATCH VR HEIST EXPERIENCE
by RAFAEL PAVÓN, NICOLÁS ALCALÁ
with Rupert Grint, Luke Pasqualino, Lucien Laviscount, Phoebe Dynevor
USA / 5’ / Installation
NEFERTITI
by RICHARD MILLS, KIM-LEIGH PONTIN
Animation film / Great Britain / 15’ / Vive Stand Up
PROXIMA
byMATHIEU PRADAT
with Adde Fabrice, Djaga Maud, Denis Guillaume / France / 9’ / VR Theater
CHUANG (IN THE PICTURES)
by QING SHAO
Animation film / China / 5’ / VR Theater
DISPATCH
by EDWARD ROBLES
Animation film / USA, Great Britain / 6’ / Oculus Stand Up
THE ARGOS FILE
byJOSEMA ROIG
with Joshua Furtado, Matthew Amerman, April Fritz, Jamie Slovon / USA / 4’ / VR Theater
GOMORRA VR – WE OWN THE STREETS
byENRICO ROSATI
with Marco D’Amore, Salvatore Esposito, Fabio De Caro / Italy / 14’ / VR Theater
DRAW ME CLOSE, PARTS I AND II
by JORDAN TANNAHILL
Canada, Great Britain / 15’ / Installation
JIA ZAI LANRE SI (THE DESERTED)
by TSAI MING-LIANG
with Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Shiang-chyi, Lu Yi-ching, Yin Shin / Taiwan / 55’ / VR Theater
I SAW THE FUTURE
by FRANÇOIS VAUTIER
France / 5’ / VR Theater
HVER SIN STILHED (SEPARATE SILENCES)
by DAVID WEDEL
with Elias Munk, Sine Lindstorff Kjeldsen, Marcus Aurelius Christensen, Anna Nøhr Tolstrup, Erik Engedal Christensen / Denmark / 17’ / Installation
FREE WHALE
by ZHANG PEIBIN
Animation film / China / 7’ / Oculus Stand Up