Immersion at HIFF
Our Imersion progrmame has changed. For reasons outwith our control we are unable to screen David Attenboroughts Conquest of the Skies.
Instead we are presnting Oto's Planet winner of the Special July Prize at Venice Immersive 2024
Our Immersion programme offers screenings of a collection of short films developed for VR immersion experiences.
Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre: Tues 1st & Wed 2nd October, 11am to 5pm
An Lanntair Arts Centre (Drum Room): Fri 4th and Sat 5th October at 11am to 5pm.
The films are experienced through headsets for up to 4 people at a time. Slots can be booked in advance via Eventbrite (or from www.hebfilmfestival.org) or simply attend the venue on the day between the times listed.
Tickets prices are pay what you can £3.00 (concession over 60s, students and unwaged) or £5.00
FLOW by ADRIAAN LOKMAN
Netherlands, France 13min 2019. A turbulent day, driven by air. HIFF:U
Floating like leaves we witness a turbulent day in a life through the most vital element surrounding us. Brushstrokes of air in all its subtle, gentle, powerful and inner manifestations paint our fragile existence in the most unpredictable stormy ways.
Flow, takes us in to a pictorial process that locates shapes in their aero-luminous footprint into a VR experience. We will follow wind
in its unpredictable pirouettes along different natural and urban backgrounds. When it meets an
obstacle, it gives life to its shape, an expedient that, here, takes a very interesting meta-linguistic connotation. We are encouraged to reflect on the very nature of digital immersive images.
Oto's Planet
Dir: Gwenael François Genre | Animation, Sci-Fi, Fiction Luxembourg, Canada, France | 28 Minutes | English, French. Language: English A Skill Lab production, co-produced by Dpt. and Small Creative
Format | 6 DoF, Interactive (controller or hand tracking), Mix Reality (Apple Vision Pro)
Player Mode | Seated or Standing
Oto's Planet follows the peaceful life of Oto, who loves nothing more than lounging in his hammock and enjoying the fruits of the single tree on his tiny planet. His tranquility is shattered when Exo, a hyperactive and cumbersome cosmonaut, crash-lands in a small spacecraft. The ensuing attempts at communication and cohabitation between these two unlikely roommates are fraught with difficulty.
Oto’s Planet is an interactive experience in stereoscopic virtual reality (6Dof) that places us in the position of an omniscient spectator, while telling us the story of Oto whose peaceful existence on a tiny planet is disrupted by the arrival of Exo, a small, cumbersome cosmonaut. During the entire experience, the user will play their own part by intervening regularly, participating in the story and moving forward the narrative.
This touching and universal encounter allows us to address some of the darker pages of human history, upon exploring themes such as sharing, land appropriation, emergence of borders and cohabitation, in addition to exploring death and the weight of belonging to a global ecosystem.