One of the planet’s biggest cultural festivals is preparing for its big return; South by Southwest (SXSW) takes place from March 9th – 18th in Austin, Texas, and this year will be a big one for VR.
The Virtual Cinema section of this year’s festival will include 25 experiences that highlight storytelling using either VR or AR.
Highlights from the selection include the latest experience from Tyler Hurd, the VR creator behind fantastic experiences like Chocolate. In Chorus, his first piece since Chocolate, up to six users can team up to embody female warriors and do battle with giant monsters. The piece is a Within Original production.
SXSW will also give us our first look at Awake, a promising new VR series that utilizes Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Capture Studio for realistic characters. The piece focuses on a man confined to a wheelchair revisiting significant moments in his life. Aeronaut, another piece that uses the same Mixed Reality Capture and was produced by the now-closed Viacom NEXT, will also be at the show featuring art from VR artist Danny Bittman.
We’ll also be excited to check out Together, a VR experience directed by The Tree of Life director, Terrence Malick. It explores the power of human connection through the medium of dance.
On the mixed reality front, there’s The Atrium, in which viewers follow a family as they hop through portals across the multiverse.
Oh and be sure not to miss The Evolution of Testicles. That promises to be quite an event.
