VENICE VR EXPANDED – SATELLITE PROGRAM 09.02.2020 — 09.12.2020 Produced by With the support of p. 1 VENICE VR EXPANDED Curating and designing this fully online network of 15 prestigious institutions 2020 edition of Venice VR, rebranded in 15 cities across the world that make as “Expanded” for the occasion, has up our Venice VR Expanded Satellites, proven to be one of the most exciting embarking with us on this most exciting and challenging experiences. We challenge of redefining how immersive decided from the start that we would art can become a part of our lives. need to respect the choice of the original platforms that each project Liz Rosenthal had been designed for in order to Michel Reilhac protect their technical and creative Curators of Venice VR Expanded integrity. This meant that we would have to partner with the best platform providers in a new collaborative way so as to best help viewers to navigate between a constellation of different access points in virtual worlds. Add to this the very new appearance of collective performance-based projects online in real time, the growing sophistication of interactive interfaces, viewer’s agency driven by artificial intelligence, and playability constraints... It has been a very steep learning curve with the unprecedented support from our partners Viveport, Facebook’s Oculus, VR Chat and VRROOM. Yet here we are, offering you what we consider not only to be the most exciting and diverse state-of-the-art VR experiences gathered from all around the world, but also a window into what the future of immersive art and digital culture may become. And here with us, for the first time in the history of the La Biennale di Venezia, is the most impressive p. 2 As a pioneer in the dissemination of Always seeking new ways of artistic new narrative forms, PHI has developed exploration and human connection, a deep appreciation and curiosity in PHI is dedicated to sharing the most the XR community, cultivating close compelling stories and art of our time. relationships with our industry peers. The challenges of the current situation In designing thoughtful exhibitions, reinforce our desire to maintain we help make award-winning works of a dialogue with the international international stature accessible. community and to have art presented in Montreal and beyond. We are pleased to be the only venue in the country to host the full Venice PHI VR Expanded program, as part of the La Biennale di Venezia 2020, and to present the 39 immersive works of this selection. This is an opportunity for PHI to transport Montrealers into the world of this iconic event, which is normally reserved for the limited audience that travels to the famous Lazzaretto Vecchio island off of the Lido, and to introduce them to the creations of artists from 24 countries. The majority of the works are presented as world premieres, including a few by Canadian artists. As a curator, presenter and producer of immersive experiences, PHI plays a leading role in the XR community. We are honoured to include Montreal as one of the 14 satellites of Venice VR Expanded, alongside renowned institutions in major cities such as Copenhagen, Paris and Beijing. p. 3 Interactive and Cinematic Works PROGRAMMING p. 4 IN COMPETITION p. 5 4 FEET HIGH by MARIA BELEN PONCIO, Seventeen-year-old Juana, who is stuck ROSARIO PERAZOLO MASJOAN, on a wheelchair, is willing to explore DAMIAN TURKIEH sexuality but is ashamed of her own Argentina / France / 15 min body. In the process of trying to fit in Detona Cultura / Red Corner / at her new school, she is to face failure, friendship and fear before learning to ARTE France / Realidad 360 accept herself. MARIA BELEN PONCIO is a filmmaker who wrote and directed the short film 4 Feet: Blind Date (2018), on which this new VR project is based. Among the contributors of the short film above are ROSARIO PERAZOLO MASJOAN and DAMIAN TURKIEH, respectively the film’s screenwriter and co-director. p. 6 AFRICAN SPACE MAKERS by THE NRB BUS COLLECTIVE This VR series depicts a new generation Kenya / Germany / 50 min of emerging creatives. The journey be- The Nrb Bus Collective gins in Nairobi, Kenya, one of the liveliest metropolises in sub-Saharan Africa. THE NRB BUS COLLECTIVE is a mobile creative space for artists and musicians inaugurated in 2012 traveling between Kenya and other areas in East Africa. p. 7 AGENCE by PIETRO GAGLIANO In this animated and interactive Canada / 10 min experience, the fate of artificially Transitional Forms / intelligent creatures known as National Film Board of Canada Agents is in the viewer’s hands. In this algorithmic universe, Agents PIETRO GAGLIANO (1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, live on small planets according to a producer and animator. In 2018 he worked on the preordained plan until they slowly build production of the short film The Great C, which a sense of self-awareness. Should the was selected that same year for the Venice VR competition. viewer decide to let them live in social harmony, or disrupt this balance? p. 8 AJAX ALL POWERFUL by ETHAN SHAFTEL Henry Winkler is a genie addicted to USA / China / 15 min the human souls he collects in exchange VeeR / easyAction for granting wishes to gullible humans. However, something is different about ETHAN SHAFTEL is a filmmaker chiefly known the seemingly naive little girl who has for his short films Kaiju Confidential, presented rubbed his lamp this time. For one thing, at Sundance, and Space Buddies, presented at she has hired a straight-laced lawyer Tribeca, both in 2019. (Chris Parnell) to negotiate her wishes. p. 9 BEAT by KEISUKE ITOH Beat is a story literally born out of Japan / 12 min viewers’ heart since their heartbeat WOWOW Inc. / CinemaLeap Inc. is faithfully reproduced in animation. Viewers also meet a rusty and heartless KEISUKE ITOH (Japan, 1986) is Japanese artist, robot they can give their heart to by animator and illustrator specializing in character placing it in his metallic body. The happy design and 3D animation. His film Feather (2019) robot stands up and starts moving around. was presented at the 76th Venice Film Festival in the Biennale College Cinema – VR section. After meeting new robots, though, he does not know how to communicate with them. His “heart” is key to the story’s progress and, through the robot’s personal growth, of viewers’ awareness of their own heart. p. 10 DREAMIN’ ZONE by FABIENNE GIEZENDANNER Yuri, an old South Korean woman, thinks France / Sweden / Germany / back of the day she turned ten, when South Korea / 18 min she disobeyed her mother, ran away Zéro de Conduite Productions / and crossed the border between the CINÉ-LITTÉ PRODUCTIONS / two Koreas in hope to meet her father, a soldier violinist who went to war and FAUVEA Studio / STUDIO YOG disappeared somewhere in North Korea. with Yolanda Creighton, She travels through an animistic and Béatrice Bastiani, Amy Bull dreamlike version of the demilitarized zone among strange-looking birds, FABIENNE GIEZENDANNER (1967) is a Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter. Her work ranges from mysterious ghosts and the scars the war online games to the creation of animated series. left behind. Will she get to meet her dad? In 2017 she directed Skyscrapers. p. 11 GNOMES AND GOBLINS by JON FAVREAU, JAKE ROWELL This animated, story-driven game is set USA / up to 120 min in an enchanted world of gnomes and Wevr / MWM Interactive goblins. The viewer, as protagonist, will encounter inhabitants of a fantasy land, JON FAVREAU (Queens, New York City, USA, 1966) build a relationship with them, become is a U.S. filmmaker, producer and actor. Among his part of their society, and save them numerous feature films and TV series are Iron Man from their foe. (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Jungle Book (2016) The Lion King (2019), and The Mandalorian (2019). JAKE ROWELL is a U.S. filmmaker, artist and animator. He worked on the creation of video games sagas such as Final Fantasy and Call of Duty. As a filmmaker, he worked on the special effects of feature films Animatrix (2003) and Superman Returns (2006). p. 12 GREAT HOAX: THE MOON LANDING by JOHN HSU, MARCO LOCOCO In 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Taiwan / Argentina / 17 min Despite those conspiracy theorists Serendipity / 3DAR that called the moon landing a hoax, the United States proudly showed the JOHN HSU is a Taiwanese director. His debut film world what a powerful nation could Detention (2019) is based on the videogame of the accomplish. Fifty years later, the same name. That same year, Hsu was nominated Taiwanese people are fighting against in twelve categories at the Golden Horse Awards, winning in five of them including Best Directorial identity crises and financial instability Debut and Best Adapted Screenplay, together with and waiting for something or someone Fu Kai-ling and Chien Shih-keng. to step up and make them rise again. MARCO LOCOCO has worked on the special ef- fects of two animated short films: Shave It (2012) and Uncanny Valley (2015). In 2019, he produced the animated short film Gloomy Eyes, selected for the Venice VR competition. p. 13 HAVFOLKET KALDER MØRKNET VAND (HUSH) by VIBEKE BRYLD A sensory VR experience and installa- Denmark / 10 min tion turning viewers into the subject of Final Cut for Real a Northern myth and taking them into a mythological underwater land born VIBEKE BRYLD (1976) is a Danish filmmaker, out of the harsh seas and plains of Thy, screenwriter and producer. In 2015, her film a rural region in the North of Denmark Pebbles at Your Door was in competition in where superstition abounds and the Berlin for the Golden Bear as Best Documentary.