REALITY IS RELATIVE! BATCH 1 BEAUTIFUL VR & AR BN PICK AT 2017 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Reality is relative. It all depends. And now, thanks to the acceleration of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) we’ve got even more to play with. This year, there are more and more spectacular VR and AR experiences at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

It’s been a thrill to immerse and explore. We are featuring some of our favorites with you all this week. Check out the first batch below.

1. ZERO DAYS

Zero Days is not a pretty story. It is a brilliantly crafted gripping documentary about a cyber weapon, called Stuxnet, which is deployed to sabatoge an underground Iranian nuclear facility.

Directed by Yasmin Elayat, it’s scary stuff, but beautifully rendered. You experience it all from inside the invisible world of computer viruses.

Watch the trailer.

2. DEAR ANGELICA

Dear Angelica is like a surreal coming-of-age story, directed by Saschka Unseld, co-founder of Oculus Story Studio. Produced in collaboration with illustrator Wesley Allsbrook, and actors Geena Davis and Mae Whitman, this VR experience follows protagonist Jessica through the dreamlike memories of her mother Angelica.

While it’s not interactive, per se, we can move through different memories at our own pace. Drawings feel like sculptures as they move around us from scene to scene, from one set of emotions to the next.

Watch the trailer.

3.HEROES

Dance your way through Heroes, a multi-dimensional VR/AR experience, directed by Melissa Painter. You can move with the other dancers around the stage -- you can even hold them in the palm of your hand.

4. NEUROSPECULATIVE AFROFEMINISM

You think hair extensions are cool? Try transcranial extensions! Welcome to Brooks Salon, a beauty salon of the future in Neurospeculative Afrofeminism.

This 3-part experience, directed by Carmen Aguilar y Wedge, Ashley Baccus-Clark, Ece Tankal, & Nitzan Bartov, explores the roles black women might play in technology, society, & culture, using fashion, cosmetics, and beauty as vehicles.

You can participate in the neurocognitive impact research conducted by Hyphen-Labs, an international team of women with backgrounds in engineering, science, and architecture who now synthesize art and technology.

Watch the trailer.

5. A NORMAL WORKING DAY

A Normal Working Day is an artist collective that includes the choreographers and dancers Delgado Fuchs (Marco Delgado and Nadine Fuchs) and the installation artist Zimoun. Together, they created a series of incredibly hynotic single-channel projections that render psydelic video op art.

Watch a teaser here.

Read more about Beautiful New Realities at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival this week.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: Courtesy of Scatter. Zero Days VR, directed by Yasmin Elayat.
2. Image: Courtesy of Scatter. Zero Days VR, directed by Yasmin Elayat.
3. Image: Courtesy of Scatter. Zero Days VR, directed by Yasmin Elayat.
4. Image: Courtesy of Oculus Story Studio. Dear Angelica, directed by Saschka Unseld.
5. Image: Courtesy of Oculus Story Studio. Dear Angelica, directed by Saschka Unseld.
6. Image: Courtesy of MAP Design Lab, MPC VR, Helios Dance Theater. Heroes, directed  by Melissa Painter.
7. Image: Courtesy of Hyphen-Labs. Neurospeculative Afrofeminism, directed by Carmen Aguilar y Wedge, Ashley Baccus-Clark, Ece Tankal, & Nitzan Bartov.
8. Image: Courtesy of Hyphen-Labs. Neurospeculative Afrofeminism, directed by Carmen Aguilar y Wedge, Ashley Baccus-Clark, Ece Tankal, & Nitzan Bartov.
9. Image: Courtesy of A Normal Working Day Collective. A Normal Working Day Single Channel Projection.
10. Image: Courtesy of A Normal Working Day Collective. A Normal Working Day Single Channel Projection.
11. Image: Courtesy of Oculus Story Studio. Dear Angelica, directed by Saschka Unseld.
12. Image: by BN App - Download now!
13. Image: byTravis Wise. “Sundance Film Festival.