The 13th Dubai International Film Festival, is delivering extraordinary viewing options through the introduction of the “DIFFerent Reality” selection, allowing audiences to watch movies on a VR box, through a 360 degree experience.
I had the opportunity to try this latest trend, while watching two of the many short movies on offer to the public; When The Land Is Lost, Do We Eat Coal? and I, Philip.
Virtual Reality technology is a computer generated environment which can be used in various fields such as sports, architecture and entertainment. According to the Virtual Reality Society www.vrs.og.uk, it has a long history starting with panoramic paintings, flight simulators to artificial reality and Sega’s VR glasses.
The biggest plus point of VR technology is enabling audiences to look around the settings of the film and actually feel like they are part of the movie. I found that it keeps audiences fully engaged.
When The Land Is Lost, Do We Eat Coal?, is centred around a village named Korba in Central India, and how its farms are getting cleared by a major coal mining company, ultimately depriving people of their incomes, lands and family history. The nature, old houses, people and the coal mine locations stuns audiences.
I, Philip on the other hand, is based on the first android human named “Philip” built in 2005. He is described as a technological breakthrough and presented in conferences, but often gets flashbacks of himself on his death bed and with his wife at a beach.
The film was exceptional to watch through VR technology, especially the introduction and during scene changes. It starts with cloudlike structures with opposing colours on every side of the 360 degree angles. What felt like strange illusions of shapes often popped up, representing what was happening inside Philip’s head — him being a program.
Revolutionise
This millennium has witnessed rapid growth in the development and commercialisation of VR technology, such as the introduction of Google’s DIY cardboard and Samsung’s Gear VR. Presenting movies in VR technology could revolutionise how people watch films in the future.
Film fans had a lot of positive opinions on the adaptation of VR technology in films, with all ‘DIFFerent Reality’ films garnering positive responses.
One such moviegoer named Manish, said he enjoyed When The Land Is Lost, Do We Eat Coal?, the most because of its strong message, adding that he hoped it was the way forward for film.
“I feel VR is the future. Most of the entertainment will be on VR,” said Manish.
Another Diff visitor, Amani Al Aidroos, also favoured When The Land Is Lost, Do We Eat Coal?.
“I liked being completely immersed in the story, so that I was able to look around 360 degrees. When the film was going on, I was able to see what the narrative was talking about — all the land, that’s what I found fantastic,” said Al Aidroos.
On a choice between VR technology and regular television, she said she would definitely choose VR technology because it offered a unique way to enjoy films.
The Star Wars VR game at Mall of the Emirates, is just one of the many promotional activities ahead of the premiere of the much hyped Star Wars: Rogue One, which will close Diff on December 14.
Star Wars is the second most powerful film franchise after the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With seven movies so far, the franchise has taken a record $6.7 billion dollars at the global box office, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
Two of the game’s promoters, Zaid Awwad and Mohammed Malik, spoke about the experience and how it was mainly popular with people between the ages of 11-39.
“It’s a very old movie and story. Plus, it’s continuous,” Malik says. “This is the best series of a movie you can have.”
They both agreed that the Star Wars franchise amassed a lot of fans in the UAE, and that the movies generate excitement “big time”. With the development in technology, a new level of game playing is introduced offering a “different” and “new” era of playing.
Star Wars, which was released 39 years ago, has the potential to succeed in the technology dominated field of gaming, according to both Malik and Awwad.
“If they do improve the game and graphics, then why not?” they said.
The Dubai International Film Festival is from the December 7 to 14 at Madinat Jumeirah. For more, go to diff.ae.
— The Young Journalist Award (YJA) at Diff is a training programme for high school students who are aspiring writers and reporters. Eight students are competing at the festival this year between December 7-14. One winner will secure a monthlong internship with Gulf News.
