Turning a blind eye to something is hard to do when it’s right in front of you. That’s why so many people see VR as such a powerful tool for raising awareness of the many issues that mankind faces in this day and age. Petra Chlpanova and Danny Ryan are two of those people; they’re creating a short film for headsets that puts viewers in the heart of the human trafficking crisis.
The Road is currently looking for funding on Kickstarter. At the time of writing it’s nearly reached the halfway point of its $10,000 goal.
The proposed 360 degree movie will follow a handful of characters, and be told from their perspective as they encounter tragic circumstances. We’d expect something that you’ll often want to love away from but, because you’re in VR, you won’t be able to.
“Danny, the director, and I wanted to make a virtual reality short film for a while,” Chlpanova tells me, “because we are very interested in immersive filmmaking. Danny told me about the idea a while ago, when he read an article about human labor trafficking, and after a long discussion, we decided to write a script.”
“You can encounter these victims and not ever realise it,” Ryan says in the Kickstarter’s video, noting that his home city of New York had become a hotspot for the crisis.
The pair’s movie, which will feature cinematography from Chad Cooper, is influenced by the times in which we live in, with the political climate of countries like the US and the UK clamping down on immigration. “I think that people forget that most of these people are running for their lives, and often fall victims to smugglers or traffickers,” Chlpanova says.
Imagine having to face your attackers as they stand above you, or feeling helpless as they harm others. No, it’s not a pleasant idea, but it’s something people go through, and living our comfortable lives makes it all too easy to simply forget it’s happening. This team sees VR as a tool that will help us to remember.
“In our case, it [VR] lets the audience empathize with the victims in a way it won’t be able to in a traditional film,” Chlpanova adds. “However, the world is facing many problems, not only illegal immigration. I believe that filmmaking and educating people through immersive experiences can create more solidarity and cooperation, and lead people to take action against these issues.”
This sounds like it could be an important project, then. We’ve already seen a number of other takes VR has had on the immigrant crisis, but The Road’s specific focus on human trafficking looks to alarm in a way like nothing has before.
Should funding prove successful then the team hopes to release the movie in early September, with Kickstarter backers getting access a little earlier.
