Getting Real in 2023
Welcome to the FMFF 2023 Virtual Reality film program. Our VR Xplorations film sessions will transport you to different worlds, times and dimensions. You’ll be fully immersed in our filmmakers stories and history, feeling the heat of a volcano, a splash from freediving, adrenaline rushes and more.
VR has opened up new possibilities for immersive storytelling and these five films are a testament to the power of VR through their technical brilliance and empathy, breaking down barriers and connecting us in ways we never thought possible.
Please join us at Liminal, A People’s Cafe & Community Center, and grab a cup of coffee or tea and get ready to experience film like never before. We will be joined by NAU Advanced Media Lab who brings the tech and VR headsets to our sessions this year. It’s time to forget the world around you and dive headfirst into these stunning virtual worlds via 180 and 360 films. Enjoy the AWE.
Saturday, April 15
VR Tech Talk with Graham Hagerty from NAU Advanced Media Lab
11:00 am – Noon
As a student, Graham Hagerty took an early interest in Virtual Reality and helped build the first VR Lab at NAU. An expert 3D modeler and designer for real-time 3D environments, he’ll discuss the technologies, their applications and where it is going followed by a Q&A before guiding us into a film session.
Location:
Partner:
Saturday, April 15
VR Xploration Film Session 1
Noon – 2 pm
Come on out to Liminal and sign up to view one of five VR films. If time allows in our two hour sessions you can possibly squeeze in a few films. While you wait your turn, you can purchase a hot beverage on site
Sunday | April 16
VR Xploration Film Session 2
12:30 – 2:30 pm
Please sign up with another chance to Xplore and immerse yourself with our five 180/360 VR films. And hot beverages will be available to purchase once again, which supports our gracious host, Liminal.
Location:
Partner:
Virtual Reality (VR) Films
Earth To Ashes: Running the Ring of Fire Through Guatemala
Director: Alisa May Geiser, USA, 2019
Join Alisa May Geiser, Robin Maslowski and David Samayoa as they run through Ring of Fire in Guatemala seeking the wisdom of the land.
To Return
Director: Laura Kottlowski, USA, 2019
Through the eyes of Laura Kottlowski and a poetic narrative, you’ll experience the multi-sensory joy and curiosities of untamed ice first-hand.
Jungle Freedive
Director: John Mans, USA, 2019
In this immersive VR180 short film, freediver Rose explores various jungle caves and sinkholes, (cenotes), in Mexico’s Yucatán.
Yawarani: A VR Film Made With Indigenous Creators
Director: Daniel Bury, USA, 2019
Yawarani is a VR180 film created in collaboration with the Indigenous community to preserve their sacred culture and the wisdom of their elders.
Bears Ears VR Project
Director: Aaron Huey, National Geographic, USA, 2019
Take a one-of-a-kind virtual reality tour of the ancestral pueblo sites of Bears Ears National Monument, built by National Geographic photographer Aaron Huey and tribal elders from the four corners region.