A week after news broke that incredible VR experience, Spheres, had landed a seven-figure deal at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, another experience has also been acquired.
Zikr: A Sufi Revival, which was on display at the festival’s New Frontiers installation, has been acquired by UK documentary company, Dogwoof, for an undisclosed sum. The deal was brokered on the last day of the festival.
Directed by Gabo Arora, produced by Jennifer Tiexiera, and created by Sensorium, Superbright and startup studio Tomorrow Never Knows, Zikr is a social VR experience in which song and dance transport four viewers into rituals from the mystical Islamic tradition of Sufism.
In a prepared statement, Dogwoof founder Andy Whittaker called the piece a “profoundly moving experience”, adding: “We cannot wait to show it to international festivals, theaters, museums and art venues knowing it can have the kind of profound impact Alejandro Iñárritu’s piece has had at LACMA.”
As part of the deal, the experience will be expanded with additional funding and development, with full online support being implemented so users all over the world can meet up and share the experience together. Expect the piece to come to more location-based installations, too, including museums and cinemas. That said, there’s no word on a home release just yet.
