Sheffield Doc/Fest have released the first round of three highlights for this year’s Alternate Realities exhibition, which runs alongside the festival’s film programme and talks, showcasing the very best interactive, augmented and virtual reality projects.
This year, you can strap on your headset and experience three stories on the theme of creation and destruction: Face to Face, true story of gun violence and recovery winner of the £12,000 Doc/Fest commission; immersive anti-nuclear weapons The Day The World Changed and Hold The World, which will give you a chance to (virtually) meet the legendary Sir David Attenborough himself.
“I am proud to welcome such eminent creators to Sheffield, and celebrate their imaginative explorations of archive, animation and virtual reality, reflecting the theme of the human ability to create and destroy”. – Liz McIntyre, Festival Director & CEO, Sheffield Doc/Fest.
Also announced are the first speakers for the one day Alternate Realities Summit on June 10th which will feature talks and debate on the art of interactive storytelling. Scroll the bottom for more details on this.
The highlights
Face to Face
Doc/Fest will see the world premiere of this immersive and interactive experience which follows the real-life story of American woman Michelle who in 2009 was accidentally shot in the face leaving her without eyes, nose or upper palate.
A mother of two, we meet her in the present day, now wearing a prosthetic face and raising her young daughters with her mother. With the help of years of photojournalism and recorded interviews Face to Face takes an up close and personal look at disability, self-image and human resilience.
Who made it? Creators Michelle Fox, photographer Michelle Gabel, writer and experimental filmmaker Ivana Jiron, and producer Michaela Holland.
Where is it? Trafalgar Warehouse
When is it? Thursday 7 to Tuesday 12 June
Times: Thurs 7 June: 12-8pm, then from Fri 8 – Tues 12 June: 9:30am-8pm.
Tickets: Free with Doc/Fest ticket
The Day The World Changed
Those looking for a light piece of escapism won’t find it in this in-depth and urgent immersive documentary exposing the realities of nuclear warfare.
Combining animation, archive materials, 3D scanned objects and virtual reality with first-hand testimonies and data visualisations, four people at a time can experience impressions of atomic bomb victims and survivors.
Created in partnership with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, The Day The World Changed has a clear and important message to viewers.
Who made it? Gabo Arora, Saschka Unseld, (USA/Japan, 2018)
Where is it? Trafalgar Warehouse
When is it? Thursday 7 to Tuesday 12 June
Times: Thurs 7 June: 12-8pm, then from Fri 8 – Tues 12 June: 9:30am-8pm
Ticket Price: Free with Doc/Fest ticket
Hold The World
Sure to be very popular, this experience allows you to have a virtual one-one-one experience with Sir David Attenborough.
The beloved broadcaster will guide you through behind the scenes at London’s Natural History Museum, where you will handle a series of natural history specimens, finding out about each before they ‘come to life’.
If your the kind of person has trouble with ‘look but don’t touch’ rules in museums this will be a one off chance to get hands on (so to speak).
Who made it? Dan Smith, Factory 42
Where is it? Trafalgar Warehouse
When is it? Thursday 7 to Tuesday 12 June
Times: Thurs 7 June: 12-8pm, then Fri 8 – Tues 12 June: 9:30am-8pm
Tickets: Free with Doc/Fest ticket
Alternate Realities Summit
This year will see the ‘Artist Spotlight’ fall on Gabo Arora, creator of The Day The World Changed. Talks will include head of MIT’s Open Doc Lab William Urrichio on the future of story and Ruthie Doyle of the Sundance Institute speaking on inclusion and diversity in immersive media.
Where is it? Crucible Studio
When is it? Sunday 10 June, 10am – 5pm
Tickets (including booking fee): £66 (£55 concession)
The full line-up for the Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 programme will be announced on Thursday 3 May.
