Join the Geneva International Film Festival Tous Ecrans for a unique day-long event at the ZHdK dedicated to VR and immersive storytelling, featuring some of the most innovative VR works from Swiss and International creators – along with a panel discussing the past, present and future of financing Swiss digital creation.
Schedule
Exhibition : VR works and experiences // 10am – 9pm
Workshop on Virtual Reality and Immersive Film by Focal // 10am – 5pm
Panel : “Past, present and future of financing Swiss digital creation” // 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Speakers :
Doris Fiala, Member of the Swiss National Council FDP/PLR, Zurich
Sami Kanaan, Administrative Councillor of the City of Geneva, in charge of Culture and Sports
Gérard Ruey, Secretary-General, Cinéforom
Sven Waelti, Head of coproductions, SRG SSR
Daniel Wasser, Secretary-General, Zürcher Filmstiftung
Happy hour and party starting at 7:30pm
This exhibition and panel are organised by the Geneva International Film Festival Tous Ecrans, together with its partners Pro Helvetia, ZHdK Cast and Audio-Visual Media, Swiss Digital Alliance, Swiss Fiction Movement, Zurich für den Film.
Exhibition programme
A 360° look at the Swiss music prize
Jonathan Droz, Federal Office of culture, Switzerland, 2017, 5min
An 360° virtual-reality film has been produced, showcasing the Swiss Music Prize in all its musical diversity. Join 11 winners from the last three years on a virtual journey through this prestigious award.
Angst360
Eloy Martinez, ZHdK, Switzerland, 2017
ANGST360 is an immersive experience about fear. The visitor dives into the topic through different transmedial chapters. Text and video present facts and protagonists who discuss their fears. The highlight of the experience are the 360° videos, through which the visitor’s senses are directly confronted with fear.
A proximal visit
Nicolas Büschi, Switzerland / Hong-Kong, 2017
During our visit to Hong Kong in July 2016, a collaboration with Melissa Cate Christ, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and Nicolas Büchi of the Cast / Audiovisual Media program at ZHdK emerged. As a first proof of concept, several 360° videos were produced on different stairs in Hong Kong. As Melissa has interesting and specialised input to contribute to each stair video, a collaboration and VR extension to the exhibition is envisioned, and outlined below.
Allumette
Penrose, United States, 2016, 15 min, o.v. en
Allumette tells the story of a young orphan girl who lives in a fantastical city in then clouds. After enduring tragedy, she grasps at hope for her future. Loosely inspired by “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen, Allumette is an account of the love a mother and daughter have for one another, and the sacrifices they make for the greater good.
Ashes to Ashes
Ingejan Ligthart Schenk, Jamille van Wijngaarden, Steye Hallema, Netherlands, 2017, 11 min, o.v. en
Ashes to Ashes is a surreal, tragicomedy in virtual reality about how a dysfunctional family handles the dying wish of their grandfather. Seen through the ‘eyes’ of the deceased –the urn containing the ashes– this short VR film gives a unique point of view on a bizarre set of family relationships nthat are ready to blow up. We witness how each family member drops theirn pretences to reveal the full extent of their dishonesty. Ultimately, Ashes to Ashes is about choosing your own reality, your imagination, your world.
DMZ: Memories of a No Man’s Land
Hayoun Kwon, France, 2015, 11 min, o.v. en
DMZ: Memories of a No Man’s Land takes the viewer to a place where they are forbidden to go: The Korean Demilitarized Zone, a strip of land about 248 km long and 4 km wide thatn separates North and South Korea. In this revealing VR documentary you will discover the zone through the memory of a former soldier.
Dernière Mission Avant Départ
Julien Bittner, France, 2016, 7 min, o.v. fr
Dernière Mission Avant Départ is a VR spin-off of award-winning TV series Le Bureau des Légendes. Featuring Mathieu Kassovitz, the 360 film has been shot from a first-person POV and puts the user in the shoes of an aspiring counter-terrorism agent about to go on a final test mission. Through his eyes, you will be hitting the streets of Paris, escaping surveillance and placing a bug in a room of a Parisian palace.
Drawing Room
Jan Rothuizen, Sara Kolster, Juul Spee, Harm van de Ven, Netherlands, 2015, 7 min, o.v. en
Artist and illustrator Jan Rothuizen is invited by a big Dutch department store. He is offered a room at the top of the building, overlooking the city. From this real-life situation, Rothuizen creates a unique autobiographical VR experience.
Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel
Oscar Raby, Australia, 2016, 13 min, o.v. en
Willien McNeive was 19 in 1916, when he took part in the Easter Rising, a bloody event in Irish history of which he left an oral testimony. Immerse yourselves in the rebel’s memories thanks to this fascinatingly beautiful piece of work.
EWA, Out Of Body
Johan Knattrup Jensen, Mads Damsbo, Denmark, 2016, 8 min, o.v. en
Reliven a traumatic event in the life of Ewa, a teenager bullied by her mother. First through her own eyes, then out of her body. After the fascinating Doghouse, Makropol returns with a project that demonstrates the whole narrative potential of VR. Striking.
Firebird – La Péri
Balthazar Auxietre, France, 2016, 15 min, o.v. en
Pioneer of French VR, Balthazar Auxietre immerses us in a work where music, dance and cinema converge to shape a new entertainment experience, both nethereal and sensual. Enter the magic world of La Péri.
Gotthard 360
Dominik Born, Hanna Wick, Matthias Taugwalder, Sylke Gruhnwald, Switzerland, 2016, 8 min, o.v. en
Then Gotthard is a 57-kilometer long train tunnel of cables and concrete that dives deep into the mountain. A mesmerising and addictive experience, this VR film by Swiss-German TV immerses us in a 360° perspective on this passage through the Alps.
I, Philip
Pierre Zandrowicz, France, 2016, 14 min, o.v. en
Twenty-threen years after Philip K. Dick’s death in 2005, David Hanson unveils his first humanoid android. Experience the memories of what might have been the writer’s final love story. ARTE makes its grand entrance into VR production.
Longing for Wilderness
Marc Zimmermann, Germany, 2016, 3 min, no dialogue
An fast-paced journey from the dirty pavements of a noisy city to idyllic natural landscapes before cooling off. Express meditation about life and death, which incidentally is also a counter-cultural green VR project.
Notes on Blindness : Into Darkness
Arnaud Colinart, Amaury La Burthe, Peter Middleton, James Spinney, France/Great Britain, 2016, 20-25 min, o.v. en
Notes on Blindness – Into Darkness is an interactive virtual reality project based on the audio diaries of writer and academic John Hull, who- after decades of steady deterioration – became totally blind in 1983. It offers a sensory and psychological journey into “a world beyond sight”.
SENS VR
Charles Ayats, Armand Lemarchand, Marc-Antoine Mathieu, France, 2016, 30 min, no dialogue
SENS VRn is a poetic journey into the world of graphic novel author Marc-Antoinen Mathieu. A combination of video game and classic comic book, animation nfilm and waking dream, his work combines genres and stands at the ncrossroads of the past and the future.
Sequenced
apelab, Swizterland, 2014-2015, 10 min, o.v. en
Inn a world where there is only one city left on Earth, recons are sent outn to find lost populations. Sam, one such recon, meets Raven, a 13 nyear-old orphan who’s grown up in nature and whose DNA predestins her ton become humanity’s Guardian. Their journey together will reveal many nsecrets about Raven’s origins as she discovers the true colors of nEarth’s safest place.Sequenced is the first animated interactive nseries on 360° for virtual reality headsets. The story adapts in real ntime to the user’s focus: the characters and environment react to the nuser’s presence in each scene.
Sonar
Philipp Maas, Dominik Stockhausen, Alexander Maas, Germany, 2016, 6 min, no dialogue
An drone discovers an unknown asteroid. On its journey over the rocky nsurface it receives a strange signal. To locate its source the drone nventures deep into an ancient labyrinth. A place that holds a secret neven darker than space itself.
The Invisible Man
Hugo Keijzer, Netherlands, 2016, 10 min, o.v. en
Nickn and Kid have half a million euros in heroine stashed in an upstate nbarn. But they also have a debt to pay – to Frank. When Frank suddenly nshows up at their’ hideout, they have no choice but to oblige in a nsadistic game of Russian Roulette. Each click of the chamber reveals a nlittle bit more about each character in the room.
The Roop – Not Too Late
The Roop, Wide Wings, Lithuania, 2015, 5 min, o.v. en
Whatn would happen if virtual reality and character animation were combined? nIn this dreamy 360° music video, set in wilderness of Lithuanian coast, nthe viewer goes back to the childhood. A hide and seek, whistling a nsong, absolute freedom – all the memories become vivid again and nenriched by sea creatures. To be a child is not too late.
Transition
Joost Jordens, Mike von Rotz, Netherlands, 2016, 8 min, no dialogue
Whenn two students from the Utrecht School of the Arts meet ambient musiciansn Kettel & Secede, the result is a meditative journey into a world nthat evokes the metaphysical inclinations of Jodorowsky and Moebius. nMesmerising.
VR Noir : A Day Before the Night
Nathan Anderson, Martin Taylor, Mike Jones, Australia, 2016, 10 minutes, o.v. en
VR Noir: A Day Before The Nightn is an interactive crime thriller. Audiences are invited to play the nrole of detective Veronica Coltrane, a burnt out private detective with nmounting debts and a dark past. Throughout the investigation, audiences nare caught up in a high stakes drama, compelled to engage with local ncharacters and virtual environments, forced to make difficult choices, nsolve puzzles and use their powers of observation to propel the nstoryline forward.
Watchout!
apelab, Switzerland, 2016, 1 min, o.v. en
Thisn clever virtual reality game designed by apelab’s talents is a spin-off nof Cannes sensation and Swiss nominee for the Oscars, My Life as a Zucchini. The aim? To stop the film’s characters from destroying the set!