For around five years now Sheffield Doc/Fest has provided a fascinating glimpse into the current state of VR documentaries, debuting amazing projects like Future Aleppo and Easter Rising. This year’s show looks to be no different.
The first installations for Doc/Fest 2018’s Alternate Realities program have now been announced, including the winner of the £12,000 project commission we wrote about earlier this year. The funding goes to Michaela Holland’s Face to Face, a story about disability, expectations, beauty and human resilience starring an American mother, Michelle, and her two daughters. The piece is set to use immersive theatre techniques to involve audiences in a journey that follows Michelle’s life after a gun accident left her blind and unable to smell. If past Doc/Fest commissions are anything to go by it’ll definitely be on to watch.
The two other confirmed installations for this year at The Day The World Changed and Hold the World. The former brings viewers closer to accounts from victims and survivors of atomic bombings and nuclear arms testing. The piece was created by VR filmmaker Gabo Arora and former Oculus Story Studio member Saschka Unseld. The app uses photogrammetry, 3D scanned objects and native VR tools.
Hold the World, meanwhile, is the latest VR app to star Sir David Attenborough, who gives viewers a tour of London’s Natural History Museum, allowing them to get closer with some of its most precious items and specimens.
More installations for this year’s show will be announced next month. You can also look forward to the annual Alternate Realities Summit which gathers filmmakers to discuss their projects. The entire festival runs from 7th – 12th June and the Summit takes place on 10th June.
