XR Culture & Society
Fri
2
Fri 2 Jun 3:00 PM
Auckland Central Library
General Admission
No Place But Here
In early 2017, the South Africa-based Reclaim the City movement occupied the Woodstock building, which had previously served as a hospital. This act served as a symbolic protest against growing wealth inequality and gentrification in the area. This documentary places the viewer in the shoes of one of the activists and forces them to empathise with figures who have been demonised in the media. This fiery piece of agitprop hopes to rehabilitate the image of the movement and spread awareness about its connection to historical anti-apartheid protests.
This is Not A Ceremony
The oral tradition popularised by Canada's First Nations community is brought to the screen in Ahnahktsipiitaa's astonishing new cinematic VR experience. A community that has traditionally been silenced is allowed to let loose in an interactive film that brings all viewers closer to understanding the struggles that they have faced in decades past. A particular emphasis is placed upon the elements of their culture that colonialism attempted to eradicate. Rather than being a frivolous trifle, this film encourages audiences to bear witness to these events and understand the full force of the trauma that they have to work through.
Sorella's Story
Sorella’s Story transforms the story behind a single smuggled 1941 photograph, buried by history, into an unforgettable 15-minute immersive experience. Inside a VR headset, the viewer is transported to a 360 snowy landscape with 10-year-old girl Sorella Epstein.
Tragically, Sorella and almost 4,000 Latvian Jewish women and children were ordered to undress in freezing temperatures
prior to a mass execution on a beach in Liepaja, Latvia during the Holocaust. Sorella’s Story is a visceral reminder and warning of how prejudice can escalate to devastating tragedy. This impactful story
invites the viewer to accompany Sorella and some of the women as they embark on their last journey, so that we never forget.
In early 2017, the South Africa-based Reclaim the City movement occupied the Woodstock building, which had previously served as a hospital. This act served as a symbolic protest against growing wealth inequality and gentrification in the area. This documentary places the viewer in the shoes of one of the activists and forces them to empathise with figures who have been demonised in the media. This fiery piece of agitprop hopes to rehabilitate the image of the movement and spread awareness about its connection to historical anti-apartheid protests.
This is Not A Ceremony
The oral tradition popularised by Canada's First Nations community is brought to the screen in Ahnahktsipiitaa's astonishing new cinematic VR experience. A community that has traditionally been silenced is allowed to let loose in an interactive film that brings all viewers closer to understanding the struggles that they have faced in decades past. A particular emphasis is placed upon the elements of their culture that colonialism attempted to eradicate. Rather than being a frivolous trifle, this film encourages audiences to bear witness to these events and understand the full force of the trauma that they have to work through.
Sorella's Story
Sorella’s Story transforms the story behind a single smuggled 1941 photograph, buried by history, into an unforgettable 15-minute immersive experience. Inside a VR headset, the viewer is transported to a 360 snowy landscape with 10-year-old girl Sorella Epstein.
Tragically, Sorella and almost 4,000 Latvian Jewish women and children were ordered to undress in freezing temperatures
prior to a mass execution on a beach in Liepaja, Latvia during the Holocaust. Sorella’s Story is a visceral reminder and warning of how prejudice can escalate to devastating tragedy. This impactful story
invites the viewer to accompany Sorella and some of the women as they embark on their last journey, so that we never forget.
