Ten Virtual Reality Highlights from Sundance 2020’s New Frontier Program
Technology meets storytelling in these mind-bending creative projects
Each year, the Sundance Film Festival‘s New Frontier exhibitions, installations and screenings diverge from the rest of the acclaimed event in that they debut technological achievements as important as storytelling advancements. In its commitment to virtual and augmented reality works, New Frontier’s become home to so much more—AI, mixed reality (MR), facial-recognition, biotech, to name some of the groundbreaking crossover. The 2020 roster in particular, with its 32 projects selected from 21 countries, showcases an even more seamless marriage of technology and artistry. In the midst of it all, we are witnessing an expanding definition of film and a deeper understanding of how it can be experienced.
New Frontier steps outside of its dedicated venue spaces, New Frontier at The Ray and New Frontier Central, this year. Though the latter will introduce a new “Biodigital Theatre” for large-scale works, we are most excited for a satellite project in the pool at Festival Headquarters (more on that below). For those who will not be at Sundance, or who can’t get tickets to New Frontier, the following 10 selections will undeniably continue beyond the festival—and should be sought out elsewhere, too.
BLKNWS
From LA–based artist and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph, BLKNWS utilizes the newsreel format to intervene on the “news-industrial complex.” This 47-minute cinematic art project acts as a cultural critique, but balances seriousness with levity. Referred to as a “a fugitive newscast,” BLKNWS will run at 11 cinemas around the country, including locations in Detroit, Dallas, Miami, Nashville and Brooklyn.
Spaced Out
A first of its kind for New Frontier, Spaced Out utilizes an underwater VR headset and snorkel (for use inside the Festival Headquarter’s pool). The nine-minute experience transports viewers into a voyage from Earth to the moon. Floating in the water during the experience imitates the gravity-free scenario. Meanwhile, inside the goggles, digital artist Pierre “Pyaré” Friquet and key collaborator Sutu‘s work melds with Apollo 11 mission archival recordings. Several Adobe technologies—including Premiere Pro and XD for prototyping when the project was interactive/real-time—helped bring it to life.
Solastalgia
The first work created and screened on the HoloLens2, Solastalgia (from award-winning filmmakers Pierre-Alain Giraud and Antoine Viviani) places viewers in the position of a cosmonaut exploring the ruins of a depopulated planet. This visually stunning 10-minute experience questions the role of technology in our lives, and in our futures, while ruminating on its dangers. The work is also on view at Les Champs Libres in Rennes, France and will make its way to the National Gallery of Iceland from June to September.
Breathe
We all breathe the same air. Breathe, from Diego Galafassi (an artist in residence at Johns Hopkins University Immersive Storytelling and Emerging Technologies Lab) and Jess Engel (who worked on SPHERES), asks us to visualize this through mixed reality. A 12-minute communal experience, it taps into body movement to tell the story of air—and our role in its cycle—with incredible thought and beauty.
Still Here
Premiering in the New Frontier program, the immersive multimedia installation Still Here utilizes interactive virtual reality, audio with augmented reality and a photo exhibit to guide participants through the narrative of Jasmine, a woman who has returned home after 15 years of prison. 29-year-old co-creator Zahra Rasool tapped into the experiences of nine formerly imprisoned women to weave together the compelling story, which is set in Jasmine’s Harlem brownstone, now surrounded by gentrification.
Metamorphic
Produced by CH favorite Sensorium, Metamorphic is an eight-minute social VR experience created by Matthew Niederhauser, Wesley Allsbrook, Elie Zananiri, and John Fitzgerald. In an immersive environment, and through the experiential arc, participants engage with each other and their unfamiliar surroundings. Here, movement shapes both self and the world. Visually, it’s whimsical and beautifully drawn—and the entirety of it encourages introspection.
Scarecrow
During its 12-minute runtime, Scarecrow blends gaming with thermal haptic activity, dance, painting and more. From South Korea’s K’ARTS, the immersive piece takes place in a Sisyphean world and it is the user’s role to save a scarecrow from an eternal spell that yields hundreds of attacking firebirds. An exciting, surreal work, Scarecrow delivers excitement until the end.
The Electronic Diaries of Lynn Hershman Leeson
Composed of artist Lynn Hershman Leeson‘s 40-year archive of self-recorded, diary-like sessions, The Electronic Diaries of Lynn Hershman Leeson invites users into a dynamic, confessional experience. Leeson presents the work in a custom theater which houses something she refers to as Room #8, which contains a DNA strand onto which the film has been encoded.
Persuasion Machines
Produced by The Othrs, Persuasion Machines uses mixed reality and surveillance technology to ask participants to confront data. For 12 minutes, audience members learn how smart devices harvest our data, and how it is used. The experience is eye-opening and, in many ways, questions the value of technology while demonstrating its power.
Narcissister Breast Work
Brooklyn-based artist and performer Narcissister‘s nine-minute film, Narcissister Breast Work makes its world premiere in New Frontier, where it asks audiences to consider the origins of prohibitions on women’s bodies. Wearing a mask and merkin, she pursues truth by way of art and activism. It’s a work of thought-provoking beauty.
Hero image from Scarecrow, courtesy of Sundance Institute
