I have been observing for some time how virtual reality, VR/360, is gradually gaining more importance at film festivals. At the Clermont-Ferrand Market there was a VR stand this year, and this very week I learned about bcn360vrfest, a festival project specialized in VR/360 that is seeking funding through Movistar’s Artsy platform, created by MECAL together with the 3D Wire Animation and Video Game Market. At the same time, I received the call for entries from the Tribeca Festival, with a new specific section for VR/360.
Virtual reality is here to stay.
VR stands for virtual reality, which seeks to immerse the viewer in an alternative world, enveloping them in the story and allowing them to interact with the environment. VR requires the use of virtual reality headsets, which came to market with Oculus in 2010 and have since been followed by Google, HTC, and Samsung, among others, with their own projects.
360 videos are becoming very popular on Facebook and YouTube. These are videos where the camera simultaneously records 360°. Viewers can rotate their devices to view them from different angles. These videos do not require headsets. Typically, festivals specializing in these technologies include both VR and 360, so they usually go together.
In May, the Immersive Festival took place in Madrid. More than a festival, it was an event centered around the VR industry, but it featured screenings of short films, feature films, and music videos. In Mexico, there is also a festival focused on the VR sector, VRFest, which took place at the end of August. In its program, in addition to conferences and workshops, there was a competition in which 9 VR/360 works were selected.
In any case, these two festivals are more focused on the VR/360 industry and sector than on competition. In this regard, I find the trend of film festivals opening new specific sections for this format more interesting. I have selected 7 of these festivals that have made a commitment to these formats and are creating competitive sections.
The Sundance Festival has been one of the pioneers. It has a section for projects linked to new technologies, New Frontier, which has reached its 10th year and has included virtual reality for the past couple of years. Festival’s New Frontier VR Showcase. They only accept works with the most important VR technologies such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Cardboard. In addition to presenting the work in VR, they request a 2D copy uploaded to the Withoutabox platform.
The final submission deadline for VR was August 31 with a cost of $80. The early deadline was July 1, at half the cost, approximately $40.
In 2015, the VR selection consisted of a total of 31 works:
- #100Humans, Daniel Schechter, Linc Gasking, Rainer Gombos USA.
- 6X9: An Immersive Experience Of Solitary Confinement, The Guardian. United Kingdom
- Across The Line, Nonny De La Peña, Brad Lichtenstein, Jeff Fitzsimmons U.S.A.
- A History Of Cuban Dance, Lucy Walker U.S.A./Cuba
- Cardboard Crash, Vincent Mccurley, Loc Dao Canada
- Click Effect, Sandy Smolan, James Nestor U.S.A.
- Collisions, Lynette Wallworth Australia
- Condition One, Danfung Dennis, Casey Brown, Phil Mcnally U.S.A.
- Defrost, Randal Kleiser U.S.A.
- Fabulous Wonder.Land, Toby Coffey, Lysander Ashton, Ollie Lindsey United Kingdom
- Hard World For Small Things, Janicza Bravo
- Irrational Exuberance, Ben Vance U.S.A.
- Job Simulator, Alex Schwartz, Devin Reimer U.S.A.
- Kiya, Nonny De La Peña U.S.A.
- Nomads: Maasai, Félix Lajeunesse, Paul RaphaëL Canada
- Nomads: Sea Gypsies, Félix Lajeunesse, Paul RaphaëL Canada
- Notes On Blindness – Into Darkness, Arnaud Colinart, Amaury La Burthe, Peter Middleton, James Spinney France/United Kingdom
- Perspective, Chapter 2: The Misdemeanor, Rose Troche, Morris May U.S.A.
- Sequenced, Emilie Joly, Sylvain Joly, Michaël Martin U.S.A./Switzerland
- Sisters: A Mobile VR Ghost Story Andrew Goldstein, Robyn Gray, Michael Murdock U.S.A.
- Sonar, Alexander Maas, Philipp Maas, Dominik Stockhausen Germany
- Stonemilker, Andrew Thomas Huang, BjöRk GuðMundsdóTtir U.S.A.
- Surge, Arjan Van Meerten Netherlands
- The Abbot’S Book Michael Conelly, Lyndon Barrois U.S.A.
- Theblu: Encounter, Jake Rowell U.S.A.
- The Martian VR Experience, Ridley Scott, Robert Stromberg U.S.A.
- The Rose And I, Eugene Chung, Jimmy Maidens, Alex Woo U.S.A.
- The Unknown Photographer, Loic Suty, Osman Zeki, Claudine Matte Canada
- Viens! (Come!), Michel Reilhac, Carl Guyenette France
- Waves, Benjamin Dickinson U.S.A.
- Waves of graves, Gabo Arora, Chris Milk Liberia
The Raindance Film Festival, one of the most important festivals in the United Kingdom, has also created a section for virtual reality, of any genre and up to 45 minutes in duration. Registration cost $40 at the early deadline, which was April 22. The festival takes place from September 21 to October 2. The VR program sponsored by Lexus consists of 14 short films.
This is the complete list of the selection, where works from the United Kingdom and the United States predominate. The only Spanish short film selected was Tomorrow by Nicolás Alcalá (director of El cosmonauta) through his new company Lighthouse, specialized in VR:
- 6×9 A Virtual Experience of Solitary Confinement. Dir. Francesca Panetta, Lindsay Poulton (UK)
- Across the Line. Dir. Nonny de la Peña (USA)
- Ctrl. Breaking Fourth (UK)
- Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel. Dir. Oscar Raby (UK)
- Home – An Immersive Spacewalk Experience. Dir. Kate Bartlett, Tom Burton (UK)
- In My Shoes: Dancing with Myself. Dir. Jane Gauntlett (UK)
- Inside the Box of Kurios. Dir. Paul Raphael and Félix Lajeunesse (Canada)
- Invisible. Dir. Darren Emerson (UK)
- Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness. Dir. Arnaud Colinart, Amaury La Burthe, Peter Middleton, James Spinney (UK/France)
- RecoVR: Mosul. Dir. Visualise Films (UK)
- The Rose And I. Dir. Eugene Chung (USA)
- The Turning Forest. Dir. Oscar Raby (USA)
- Tomorrow. Future Lighthouse (Spain)
- Witness 360: 7/7. Dir. Darren Emerson (UK)
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam IDFA is one of the most important documentary festivals in the world. Among its sections is the IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling. This section was created in 2007 to accommodate New Technologies, which include installations, multimedia works, and now VR. Registration for this section is free and works of different techniques are mixed. In the 2015 edition, I noted at least three short films made in VR and 360:
- LoVR 4 min. Aaron Bradbury, England
- Witness 360: 7/7 13 min. Darren Emerson, England
- DMZ: Memories of No Man’s Land 20 min. Hayoun Kwon, South Korea
The Atlanta Festival, also in the United States, has created a new VR section for this edition. The deadline for free registration was June 30. The next deadline is September 30 with a cost of $15. As with Raindance, the maximum duration is 45 minutes. The festival takes place in April.
The Cleveland International Film Festival is another festival that has recently embraced VR. In this case, the section is called New Media. In addition to VR, it includes works created for the internet and interactive games. In this case, registration is free for all deadlines, until November 30 (the extended deadline is December 10, but it is not advisable to wait that long).
This has also been the first year in which South by Southwest SXSW has opened a specific VR section. The next open deadline is September 22, the official one, with a cost of $25. The late deadline is October 20 and increases to $40. Registration is done through their own website and takes place in March 2017. This is the news where they announced the new VR section.
As I mentioned at the beginning, the Tribeca Festival has also created several sections for New Technologies. The Experimental Work section is open to works for the internet, installations, and includes virtual reality and augmented reality. Registration opened on September 6 with a price of $40. The registration deadline is December 2.
We are in the year of consolidation of these sections, especially in the United States, with a firm commitment from major festivals. VR is very different from 3D, which ultimately did not develop as expected and some festivals found themselves without enough films to program. In this case, it is a much more accessible technology. Virtual reality headsets are inexpensive, both Samsung Gear (which are being given away with new smartphones) and Google Cardboard.
Productions from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada are currently dominating these sections (where, curiously, the 45-minute limit is becoming widespread). Let us hope that soon we will see more European festivals and more productions at these festivals. VR/360 has the advantage of having the support and technology of major companies, which need creators to develop works that give them meaning and help their more creative development.