Two projects in which Canadians took part are competing in the new Immersive Competition of the 77e Cannes Film Festival, one of which was choreographed, performed and co-produced by Montrealer Dorotea Saykaly.
The famous festival unveiled on Tuesday the eight works selected for this first edition of the Immersive Competition, including video installations, interactive systems, as well as mixed and virtual reality.
“These carefully selected immersive works present the avant-garde of this new era of storytelling, shaking up conventions, embracing new technologies and, above all, celebrating new and old artists alike,” says the festival.
Two of these projects are the fruit of the work of Canadians who participated in their development: TELOS Iby Dorotea Saykaly and Emil Dam Seidel, and Roamingby Mathieu Pradat.
TELOS I is a mixed reality holographic installation combining film and dance that explores a mythical landscape in the digital age. The work of fiction is about an artificial intelligence created to help humans who find themselves in an unknown void after the extinction of humanity.
Roaming is intended for its part “an immersive theatrical adventure in virtual reality, a marvelous and disturbing tale whose outcome depends on your own choices – and those of the group to which you belong”. The work is designed to be experienced barefoot, with a virtual reality headset.
Montrealer Dorotea Saykaly is both a choreographer and performer in TELOS I. She began her career as a professional dancer for the Compagnie Marie Chouinard. His first solo, UNravelingreceived the audience prize at the Zawirowania dance festival, while the second, SHEwas premiered in 2019 at the Festival Quartier Danse at Place des Arts in Montreal.
The Immersive Competition will be held at the Cannes Film Festival from May 15 to 24.