virtual reality comes with a new prize dedicated to immersive art

In Cannes, it is the first time that a prize will be awarded to a virtual reality work. The different projects will be evaluated by an international jury from cinema, but also from immersive art.

Wandering through a gay sauna, exploring the human body with Cate Blanchett, playing a superhero disrupted by her menstrual cycle: the 77th Cannes Film Festival is launching its first competition for immersive works… and it’s shaking! This is not the first time that the world’s biggest cinema event has dabbled in virtual or augmented realities. In 2017, Alejandro González Iñárritu showed, in virtual reality, Carne y Arenathe first immersive work ever presented in the official selection of a major festival.

But, in Cannes, it is the first time that a prize will be awarded, on Thursday May 23, to this type of work, evaluated by an international jury from the 7th art and immersive art, with a ceremony of specific closing (the winners of the classic festival are revealed on May 25). Such a price already exists in Venice.

Among the eight films entered in this new competition, there is everything from state-of-the-art virtual reality – with a headset that allows you to travel in several dimensions – to interactive experiences without equipment.

In the first category, we find Crossing the Mist by Taiwanese artist Tung-Yen Chou, in a dreamlike and sensual gay sauna (forbidden to those under 18), where participants physically feel the movements in each floor, corridor or room. Without forgetting the trouble, in the skin of a regular, naked, of meeting the gaze of other users.

In the second, there is In love by the French Claire Bardainne and Adrien Mondot, currently at the Philharmonie de Paris. It is a poetic evocation around the feeling of love. No equipment here. But by moving or touching the screens, the viewer can influence the light particles projected in the work.

“The image becomes a kind of partner with which to play, the body can enter into dialogue with the screens, the floor”, described for AFP Claire Bardainne. All to music composed by Laurent Bardainne (his cousin) between electro and pop.

The possibilities of these new formats seem endless. “I think we are living in the black and white era of this phase of technology”analyzes for AFP the Briton Barnaby Steel, one of the co-creators of the short film Evolver. This co-production between the United Kingdom, France and the United States explores the interior of a rib cage, guided by the breathing voice of Cate Blanchett (Carol, Tar)

“It’s almost like making shoes while walking”, adds for AFP Adrien Mondot, who comes from IT, but also has a background as a juggler. For the moment, we should not expect financial benefits worthy of blockbusters like the Marvel or James Bond franchises. The investment is still too heavy to access the masses of the general public.

It costs around 200 to 500 euros for each headset used in Cannes for the screening session. Maya: birth of a superhero (four users maximum per session during the festival).

This production between France, the United Kingdom and the United States, open to those over 13 years old, puts the viewer in the place of a young girl of Indian origin, in London, who is faced with the arrival of her first period , between school harassment, diktats and beliefs in his family. This upheaval in Maya’s life carries a strong message of combativeness and hope. The 33-minute film oscillates between the realism of high school scenes and a fantasy world where you have to fight against demons and dark forces. The viewer becomes an actor by opening their palms: literally, the power is in everyone’s hands to help every young girl transition into the adult world.

“At one point, there is a giant octopus to confront, and the viewer can feel the tremors of this fight: this monster is the endometriosis from which I suffer and which grips my insides”analyzes with AFP Poulomi Basu, the author born in Calcutta (India). “There is a bit of my story, that of other women, it’s a journey from shame to empowerment”she summarizes. “Technology allows us to move towards new territories, virtual reality becomes an agent provocateur to make everyone react”concludes Poulomi Basu.