NewImages Festival – Official Selection

Entirely dedicated to immersive creation, NewImages Festival reveals the 17 works presented in the context of the XR competition, as well as the 21 projects selected for the XR financing market.
The general public and professionals are invited to discover them from June, 9 to 13 during the, during the 4th edition, organised by the Forum de Marche onsite and online. A double layout that had already been tested out in September 2020.

In, only few months, and despite the global pandemic situation, NewImages Festival, rose to the challenge of organising this new edition and reasserting its position:
to share the discovery of the best immersive experiences of the moment,
to support artists and key players of the XR industry in the future collaboration,
to uncover new territories -whether, in terms of geographies, narratives and metaphors of XR creations.

‘’With more than 210 projects submitted we can see a real advance taking shape: These forms of narratives are resolutely playing with the hybridization of genres, investing in the imaginary of live entertainment, of video games and of the music called universe. There are some lovely surprises ahead, and we experience unique sensations and emotions. We cannot wait to share them with you, the public, under’’ underlines Michael Swierczynski director of the festival and of digital development at Forum des Images.

NewImages Festivals invite all audiences to discover the best way to all creation in the heart of Paris… and remotely!

XR competition: a selection rich in exclusivities an open-ended, imagination … No less than 9 World Premieres will be presented in competition, alongside an international, a European, and 3 French premiers!
The 17 works selected (13 in virtual reality -VR, 4 in augmented reality-AR) will be competing to win the Golden Mask (Grand Prize 6000 euros), and the Jury’s Special Prizes (VR and AR 3000 euro each).

In 2020, the Golden Mask Award was won by “Bodyless”, directed by Taiwanese artist Hsin-Chien Huang, produced by Virtual and Physical Media Integration Association of Taiwan. Read HERE our conversation with the artist Hsin-Chien Huang, where we talked in detail about Bodyless, the relation between technology and humanity, fake news, his collaboration with Laurie Anderson, and why VR will change people’s hearts! 🙂

The awards ceremony will take place on Friday 11th of June, making the end of the Industry Days (9-11 June)

Virtual reality, augmented reality: the XR competition offers an exceptional sample of the diversity of genres, and formats sized by immersive creation, allowing us to explore them in an unprecedented way.
Science Fiction (Biolum), drama (Amends; Kinshasa Now), documentary (LadySapiens, The Experience, Noah/s Raft), fantasy (Stands Of Mind), rom com (Marco&Polo Go Round) and of course, animation (Jailbirds-Bwa Kayiman; Namoo; Paper Birds) : the selection bears witness to all the narratives made possible but by the fantastic alliance between creation and technology.While virtual reality sizes social, historical or political topics, (Reeducated), offering a sharp and original approach, it also offers- just like augmented reality does -a nice range of interactive and multi sensorial experiences (We Are At Home, Berlioz Trip AR – Dream of Sabbath Night; When She Gets Out…, Aqua Alta- Crossing the Mirror).

Through photography (Videopolis) video game (Down the Rabbit Hole), or by focusing on an acoustic approach, immersion artists seize the collective references, literally works (Dante, Lewis Carroll) musical works (Berlioz) or pictural works (Degas), offering other emotional readings.
The experienced selected are to be discovered, as is customary, at Forum des Images, in the heart of Paris. A new twist this year, the works in competition will also be available online, through the virtual exhibition XR 3, co-curated by NewImages Festival, Cannes XR and the Tribeca Festival from June 9 to 20, then from July 6 to15.

Jailbirds (2021) Belgium, France by Bwa Kayiman – Thomas Villepoux
Discover a dark fantasy universe through the story of Felix the happy giant and Chief Warden, the horrible prison guardian in this VR animated film.

Kinshasa Now (2020) Belgium, Democratic Republic of the Congo by Marc-Henri Wajnberg
35,000 kids including Mika are abandoned following witchcraft allegations. One night, Mika must suddenly come to terms with this terrible situation. You decide what happens next.

Down the Rabbit Hole (2020) Sweden by RickyHelgesson & Ryan Bednar
In this VR Video Game, guide Alice as she moves through the mysterious world of Wonderland looking for her missing pet.

Biolum (2021) France, Germany by Abel Kohen & Jon Rowe
An interactive, narrative VR sci-fi experience which immerses you in the mysterious beauty of deep sea life on a dive that takes a shocking turn for the worse.

Paper Birds (2020) Argentina, United States
PAPER BIRDS by German Heller & Frederico Carlini
VR film: a short sighted child with an exceptional talent for music searches through the world of darkness to bring back his sister, taken away by the shadows.

Acqua Alta – Crossing the mirror (2019) France
ACQUA ALTA – CROSSING THE MIRROR byAdrien Mondot & Claire Bardainne.
A pop-up book whose drawings and paper volumes are the décor of a story, visible in AR. Drawings and folded paper reveal the virtual life of a woman, a man, a house.

Amends (2020) Denmark by Mikkel Battefeld
Revisit the memories of your upbringing and get to relive the complicated emotional relationship with your mother, which still awaits its resolution.

Lady Sapiens (2021) France by Camille Duvelleroy
In this #VR film, you are Lady Sapiens. You were born 38 000 years ago. No, women were not harvesting while men hunt. Welcome to the Palaeolithic era.

Namoo (2021) United States by Erick Oh
Namoo is a narrative poem come to life inspired by Erick’ Oh’s grandfather. The narrative follows the journey of a man from his birth up until the end of his life.

Reeducated (2021) United States by Sam Wolson
Get inside a “reeducation” camp in China, in what is likely the largest mass-internment of ethnic and religious minorities since the Second World War.

Strands of Mind (2021) Germanu by Adrian Meyer
Explore a world full of mystery, of beauty and darkness. Let yourself be taken on a trip into the woven nature of existence.

We Are At Home (2021) Canada, Denmark, France by Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot
This multi-user installation is based on the poem The Hangman at Home (C. Sandburg) and explores the theme of acknowledgement and the awkward intimacy that comes with being human.

Marco & Polo Go Round (2021) Belgium, Canada by Benjamin Steiger Levine
In this comedic love story with a very surreal twist, a couple confronts the difficulties in their relationship as their worlds literally fall apart around them.

Noah’s Raft (2021) Nigeria by  Joel ‘Kachi Benson, Tal Michael Haring
This VR documentary follows Noah who decided to use education to transform the lives of children living in Makoko.

Voidopolis (2020) United States by Kat Mustatea
A digital installation loosely adapted from Dante’s Inferno about loss and memory, informed by the grim experience of wandering through NYC during a pandemic.

When She Gets Out … (2021) France By Gordon, Marie Sellier
This AR experience follows Degas’ Little Dancer along a fantastic journey through artworks displayed in museums.

Berlioz Trip AR – Dream of a Sabbath Night (2021) France by Pyaré (Pierre Friquet), Solveig (Géraldine Aliberti)
AR acoustic experience: immerse yourself in a phantasmagorical forest and complete Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique!

More than ever, the projects selected for the XR Financing Market reflect the ability of immersive technologies to innovate all artistic forms (film, video games, theatre, opera, installation, etc.) and to revolutionize our relationship to art:

Out of competition SELECTION

Discover the first new experiences selected out of competition for the 4th edition of NewImages Festival and find them from 9th to 13th June at the Forum des images on site and/or online!

About NewImages Festival
Dedicated to digital creation and to virtual worlds, NewImages Festival combines a rich professional component with a program open to all audiences. With prizes at stake, its international XR competition is submitted to a jury of creators and professionals. Its XR Financing Market brings together leading actors in the XR industry around a selection of projects open to all immersive formats. The festival also supports immersive creator and its industry by initiating collaborations, under the form of VR creation residencies, with other countries and regions of the world, such as Taiwan (Kaohsiung Film festival and TAICCA) and Africa.
NewImages Festival is produced and organized by the Forum des images, the cultural institution of the
City of Paris, dedicated to cinema and digital creation.
Website: https://newimagesfestival.com/en/

About Cannes XR
Cannes XR is the Marché du Film’s program dedicated to immersive technologies and cinematographic content. Taking place annually during the Festival de Cannes, this unmissable rendez-vous offers a multitude of networking, financing and distribution opportunities for the entire XR community: artists, directors, independent producers, studio executives, leading tech companies, location-based and online distributors. Designed as a global networking platform to discuss the role of XR technologies, Cannes XR is here to inspire the art of storytelling and fuel the future of film.
Website: https://www.marchedufilm.com/programs/cannes-xr/

About Tribeca Festival
The Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices; discovers award-winning filmmakers and creators; curates innovative experiences; and introduces new technology and ideas through premieres, exhibitions, talks, and live performances.
The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Tribeca will celebrate its 20th year June 9 – 20, 2021.
In 2019, James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, a private investment company with locations in New York and Mumbai, bought a majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, bringing together Rosenthal, De Niro, and Murdoch to grow the enterprise.
Website: www.tribecafilm.com/festival

All visual materials were integrated with the FORUM DES IMAGES consent ©newimagesfestival

More info at: https://newimagesfestival.com/