IMMERSE YOURSELF IN MORE THAN 20 VIRTUAL REALITY WORLDS AND INSTALLATIONS AT THE 15TH ANNUAL TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL February 10th, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE IMMERSE YOURSELF IN MORE THAN 20 VIRTUAL REALITY WORLDS AND INSTALLATIONS AT THE 15TH ANNUAL TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Experiential storytelling programming at the Tribeca Festival Hub to also include interactive exhibitions, gaming, and conversations on the future of technology and hacker culture
***
NEW YORK, NY- February 10, 2015 -Virtual reality (VR) and interactive storytelling take center stage at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by AT&T. Twenty-three VR exhibits and interactive installations from leading creators and emerging artists will be presented, with 16 of them making their world debut, at the Tribeca Festival Hub, located at 50 Varick Street. These elements are part of a celebrated legacy of innovative storytelling showcased at TFF since 2002. The 15th annual Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 13-24.
The Virtual Arcade invites audiences to explore the world of VR, taking them to vastly different worlds crafted by some of the leading creators working in the medium. The Virtual Arcade, open April 18-20, demonstrates the breadth of work created by VR storytellers, including projects that are rooted in documentary, narrative, gaming, music and journalism. The lineup also incorporates established programs including Storyscapes, the fourth annual juried showcase with 10 VR and interactive installations available April 14-17, and TFI Interactive, the fifth annual forum convening the brightest thinkers from media, gaming and technology on April 16.
Additional programs at the Tribeca Festival Hub include HACKED by DEF CON and MR. ROBOT, which brings DEF CON, the worlds biggest and longest-running underground hacking conference in the US, to the Festival for the second year on April 15-17 with hands-on activities and panel discussions about surveillance, technology and society. The Games for Change Games and Media Summit will take place on April 18 and feature gaming innovators and industry voices leading the charge in shaping the way we feel, play, work and interact with games.
Tribeca has always celebrated the most exciting new forms of storytelling, from video games to virtual reality, said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder Tribeca Film Festival and Executive Chair of Tribeca Enterprises. This year's program, which you can touch and feel at our amazing Festival Hub at Spring Studios, features the most dynamic work to date at the intersection of story and technology. Were committed to giving the independent artists we support the best stage to share their mind-blowing work with audiences.
Our experiential program is what happens when artists create wildly different adventures that go outside traditional methods. Here stories are not passively watched they are actually experienced - you are a participant, said Genna Terranova, Festival Director. Today virtual reality offers a new landscape for creating worlds and stories. At its best it can be a powerful vehicle for magically transportive explorations that test the limits of our imaginations and psyches.
Festival Hub Passes are available now to the general public and provide a hands-on opportunity to experience the best in entertainment and what happens when it collides with the latest technology. Festivalgoers converge on the hub to be inspired, to incite a sense of wonder and to catch a glimpse into the future of this rapidly changing and exciting world. Passes are currently on sale for $399.00 at tribecafilm.com. Single tickets for each program will go on sale March 29, 2016.
STORYSCAPES
Storyscapes projects at the 2016 Festival, open April 14-17, feature both installations and VR. The program includes projects that grapple with issues of racism, violence and harm inflicted on our planet, combining the excitement of these new immersive mediums tempered with the urgency of a world on fire. It is in turns thrilling, upsetting, shocking and wonderful, much like the world we live in.
This year's Storyscapes offerings are a reflection of today's world. We live in a very charged period-from the political landscape to unprecedented violence-and the Storyscapes installations are compelling and engaging experiences that balance some of the sobering issues facing society, as well as inspiring and wonderful ones, said Ingrid Kopp, Storyscapes curator.
One project will be selected by a jury to receive the Storyscapes Award, which recognizes groundbreaking approaches in storytelling and technology. The 2016 Storyscapes selections include:
VR
The Ark (World Premiere)
Project Creators: Jongsma + O'Neill (Eline Jongsma and Kel O'Neill)
Key Collaborator: Springbok Entertainment
The northern white rhinoceros is the most endangered animal on the planet. Only three remain, and they are protected at all times by armed bodyguards. The Ark is a virtual reality documentary that puts viewers face-to-face with the last northern white rhinos, and tells the story of the global coalition scientists who are fighting to rescue the species from extinction.
DEEP VR (North American Premiere)
Project Creators: Owen Harris and Niki Smit
Key Collaborators: Cinekid, Paradoxical Recordings, Bryan Duggan
DEEP VR is a meditative and psychoactive VR experience, controlled by the player's breathing. Discover a beautiful underwater seascape where the world challenges, surprises, and comforts. Explore the ways in which VR can change our relationship with both body and mind.
Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness
Project Creators: Arnaud Colinart, Amaury La Burthe, Peter Middleton, and James Spinney
After losing his sight in 1983, John Hull began recording an audio-diary documenting his discovery of a world beyond sight. John's original reco
