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From Presidents to Puppets, Prisons to Poachers, and More, Audiences will be Transported to New Worlds in Innovative Virtual Reality and Installations

NEW YORK, NY – The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival continues to push the boundaries of storytelling through technology and creativity in this year’s Tribeca Immersive program, presented by AT&T. With 29 virtual reality (VR) and innovative exhibitions, Tribeca Immersive presents thought-provoking experiences and installations from top creators and emerging artists, including 20 world premieres. This year, Storyscapes and Virtual Arcade exhibitions will run concurrently throughout the Festival at the Tribeca Festival Hub, located at 50 Varick Street. The 16th annual Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, takes place April 19-30.

The Tribeca Film Festival has been the premier curator of cutting-edge interactive storytelling for more than a decade – from the first film shot entirely on a cell phone in 2007 to spotlighting independent online content creators. Within this year’s Immersive program, the Storyscapes and Virtual Arcade exhibits will feature a diverse array of projects that are rooted in documentary, narrative and music, providing an intense program of experiential storytelling for audiences to explore. Established VR creators and studios debuting new pieces include: Marshmallow Laser Feast, Gabo Arora, Baobab Studios, Oculus Story Studios, Penrose Studios, and Within. Both Storyscapes and Virtual Arcade open to the public on Friday, April 21.

Storyscapes, which celebrates its fifth year this spring, was created in 2013 to bridge filmmaking, technology, and storytelling. At the 2017 Festival, the Storyscapes juried showcase will continue to present new trends and innovative work across mediums that integrate various forms of audience participation with six VR and interactive installations focusing on emotion and the human experience. The projects tackle topics including an exploration of autobiography in VR, a hunger to connect with the world around us, recounting life in a concentration camp, perception and identity, and the secret lives of strangers.

“Artists allow us to see the world differently. They peel back layers of reality to show us new ways of thinking, using story, and technology to reveal truths and possibilities,” said Ingrid Kopp, curator of Storyscapes. “It is thrilling to be exhibiting such a dynamic range of projects in the fifth year of Storyscapes and at a time when there is so much creativity and energy in the interactive space. It has been wonderful to witness audience interest in immersive work grow over the past few years and to see how artists have responded to this excitement.”

The Virtual Arcade, which debuted at the 2016 Festival, returns for 2017 to entertain, inspire and transport participants with a range of experiences from animated epics to post-apocalyptic landscapes.

“As VR has continued to evolve technologically, so has the storytelling. Our mission is to shine a light on those creators pushing the boundaries of the medium to move beyond the demo phase and deliver on the promise of fully realized stories and truly transformative experiences,” said Loren Hammonds, Programmer, Film & Experiential at Tribeca Film Festival.

STORYSCAPES

The 2017 Storyscapes selections include six projects from four countries, three of the projects are world premieres. One project will be selected by a jury to receive the Storyscapes Award, presented by AT&T, which recognizes groundbreaking approaches in storytelling and technology. Please visit Tribeca Website for Storyscapes descriptions.

Moe Black from Waffle Crew in Blackout

Blackout (World Premiere)

Project Creators: Scatter:​ ​Alexander Porter, Yasmin Elayat, James George, Mei-Ling Wong

Key Collaborators: Hannah Jayanti

Draw Me Close (World Premiere)

Project Creator: Jordan Tannahill


The Island of the Colorblind (International Premiere)

Key Collaborators: IDFA DocLab, de Brakke Grond


The Last Goodbye (World Premiere)

Key Collaborators: Stephen Smith, Here Be Dragons, MPC, Otoy, LightShed and USC Shoah Foundation

NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism (New York Premiere)

Project Creators: Hyphen-Labs – Ashley Baccus-Clark, Carmen Aguilar y Wedge, Ece Tankal, Nitzan Bartov

Giant Sequoia from Project still from Treehugger : Wawona

TREEHUGGER: WAWONA (North American Premiere)

Key Collaborators: Natan Sinigaglia, Mileece I’Anson, Cinekid Foundation, STRP, Southbank Centre and Migrations

VIRTUAL ARCADE

The Virtual Arcade selections include 23 projects from six countries, 17 of which are world premieres. Please visit Tribeca Website for Virtual Arcade descriptions.

Alteration (World Premiere) – France

Key Collaborators: James Sénade, Yann Apéry, Antoine Cayrol, Baptiste Chesnais, Pierre Zandrowicz, Jean-françois Blanquet

Apex (World Premiere) – The Netherlands/USA

Key Collaborator: Wevr

Arden’s Wake

Arden’s Wake (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Jimmy Maidens

Auto (World Premiere) – USA

Project Creator: J. Steven Schardt

Bebylon – Battle Royale (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Alex Underhill, Giray Ozil, Jennifer Chavarria

Becoming Homeless: A Human Experience (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Elise Ogle, Tobin Asher, Jeremy Bailenson

Broken Night (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Eko, Hidden Content, Real Motion VFX

Extravaganza (World Premiere) – USA

Project Creator: Ethan Shaftel

Hallelujah

Hallelujah (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Chrissy Szczupak, Orin Green, Jess Engel, ECCO VR, International Orange Chorale of SF, Chris Milk, Aaron Koblin

Life of Us (New York Premiere) – USA

Project Creator: Chris Milk, Aaron Koblin, Pharrell Williams

The Other Dakar (World Premiere) – Senegal

Key Collaborators: Electric South, Goethe Institut

The People’s House (World Premiere) – Canada

Project Creators: Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël (Felix & Paul Studios)

The Possible: Hoverboard (Season Finale) – USA

Project Creator: David Gelb

The Protectors: Walk in The Ranger’s Shoes

The Protectors: Walk in The Ranger’s Shoes (World Premiere) – USA

Project Creator: Kathryn Bigelow, Imraan Ismail

Rainbow Crow (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Michael Hutchinson, Nathaniel Dawson

Remember: Remember (World Premiere) – USA

Project Creator: Kevin Cornish

Sergeant James (North American Premiere) – France

Key Collaborators: Avi Amar

Step to the Line (New York Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Defy Ventures/ Oculus VR for Good

Sword of Baahubali (New York Premiere) – India

Key Collaborators: Radeon Technologies Group & CNCPT LA

Talking With Ghosts

Talking With Ghosts (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Wesley Allsbrook, Matthew Chadwick, Sebastien Chevrel, Tauni Oxborrow, Saschka Unseld.

Testimony (World Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Selena Pinnell

Tree (New York Premiere) – USA

Key Collaborators: Aleksandar Protic, Jakob Kudsk Steensen

Unrest (World Premiere) – France/USA

Key Collaborators: Diana Barrett (Fledgling Fund), Lindsey Dryden (Little By Little Films)

Please visit Tribeca Website for Storyscapes & Virtual Arcade descriptions.