Virtual Reality at Montreal's Phi Centre and abroad
The Phi Centre dedicates space to a medium it feels will change our experience of the documentary
Virtual Reality (VR) isn't just a gimmick for gamers.
The immersive multimedia technology is going mainstream with news outlets and documentary filmmakers expanding their craft through it.
Montreal's digital art darling, the Phi Centre, is showcasing this technology with a new space called the VR Garden.
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Myriam Achard, the curator of the VR Garden, says they decided to create a permanent space for people to watch VR projects after the success of a show called Sensory Stories last summer.
"We had 12,000 visitors for that show. A lot of it was interactive immersive VR. People want to know. They want to try it for the first time. We thought why don't we give the public an opportunity to try a new form of storytelling."
From the New York Times to Montreal
Some of the works in the garden now come from NYT VR, the virtual reality unit of The New York Times.
It's the first time the NYT VR works are presented in an installation format.
"The Phi Centre's Virtual Reality Garden is a perfect venue to experience some of the rich, immersive storytelling that NYT VR has to offer," associate editor of the NY Times, Sam Dolnick said.
10 minutes in another world
The Displaced, directed by Imraan Ismail and Ben C. Solomon documents the story of three children displayed by war and persecution, a boy from Ukraine, another boy living in a swamp in South Sudan and a young girl who fled Syria for Lebanon.
Visitors get to don the Samsung VR Gear headset and watch the 7 to 11 minute experiences.
Taking this show on the road
The Phi Centre is also co-producing an event this weekend in Cambridge, Mass., called Virtually There: Documentary Meets Virtual Reality.
"It's really important for us to have relationships with like-minded people in Montreal but also abroad in Europe and the US. So when MIT came to us with a conference on VR, we decided to co-create the event with them. To see the name of the Phi Centre next to MIT I must say makes me very proud. It's sold out!" says Achard.
The centre is also taking a showcase of VR pieces created by Studio Félix & Paul to the Québec Créatif Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival's Marché du Film happening later this month and has an exhibition at Canada House in London.
The future of virtual reality
Achard says she's not quite sure where the technology will take us but she says it's here to stay.
"It will take us somewhere for sure. We're going to Cannes next week. At Tribeca and Sundance they're all very interested in VR. I would be rich if I could tell you where it's going but somewhere new," says Achard.