Floréal Films to reveal two new VR pieces at the Venice International Film Festival

In Virtual Reality News

September 5, 2020 – From September 2-12, the Venice International Film Festival will showcase several virtual reality (VR) projects as part of its Venice VR Expanded selection. As part of this selection, Floréal Films will reveal two of its new VR pieces: The Hangman at Home – VR, by animation filmmakers Michelle and Uri Kranot; and Minimum Mass, by Raqi Syed and Areito Echevarria

The VR pieces from the 77th Venice Biennale will be simultaneously presented to the public across the globe in more than a dozen of selected venues, including the Centquatre-Paris and the PHI Centre in Montreal. 

The Hangman at Home – VR is a single-user virtual reality experience (animation) featuring five interwoven stories, and which takes the viewer on a moral journey, gradually shifting from the role of a witness to an accomplice. The experience is part of a global piece which includes a traditional animated short film and a VR multi-user installation. Coproduced with Late Love Production (Denmark), Miyu Productions (France) and the National Film Board of Canada, the single-user experience will be presented as a world premiere within the official competition of the Venice Film Festival.

Minimum Mass offers a VR experience that tells the story of a couple who experiences a series of miscarriages and come to believe their children are being born in another dimension. Set in contemporary Rotorua, New Zealand, this personal story about loss, love and black holes is written and directed by Raqi Syed and Areito Echevarria, whose experience lies in special effects, including on feature films such as Avatar, The Planet of the Apes, and The Hobbit. 

Avi Amar, Producer and Founder of Floréal Films, commented: “Floréal Films rejoices in being able to present these pieces in such a prestigious setting, thus feels encouraged in its editorial choices, and in the trust it granted to the authors it accompanies since its creation.”

In addition to presenting the two VR experiences within the official competition, Floréal Films will also participate in the Venice Gap Financing Market, where it will present NÉPHÉLÉ, a new immersive project in development by Alexandre Perez.

For more information on the full line-up of films and experiences taking place at the Venice International Film Festival this year, please visit La Biennale di Venezia’s website.

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.