Global – 24th March 2022
On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) is now available on the Quest 2 virtual reality headset and is free to download. The project recently received the SXSW Film Festival Jury Award for XR Experiences.
The jury noted that, “This project explores the potential of immersive experiences, refining the grammar of spatial narrative. This particular story deals with the urgency of nuclear disarmament that has very unfortunately come into sharp focus due to current events. It effectively presents a massive geopolitical issue and grounds it in emotional and personal stories, translating what are usually abstract concepts into an embodied context.”
The project is presented by the British Film Institute, Oculus/Meta VR for Good, and Arte France. It is the sophomoric co-production by the team behind Notes on Blindness VR, Archer’s Mark and Atlas V. Writing duties were taken on by Kanaka Maoli artist/activist/scholar and storyteller Dr. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, who provided spoken word poetry to structure the event in Hawai’i. Expertise surrounding global nuclear threat was provided by Dr. Tamara Lilinoe Patton through Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security.
On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) recreates the experiences of people in Hawai’i after a false missile alert was sent on January 13th, 2018. The VR experience takes audiences on a journey exploring the risks and consequences of a world held hostage by nuclear weapons while reflecting on how the mere existence of these weapons impacts our concepts of home, safety and security. As one of the most ambitious VR projects to date in its use of volumetric capture, On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) uses innovative technologies to put viewers in the shoes of those directly affected by the missile alert. The human character performances were recorded at Dimension Studios in London, a state-of-the-art volumetric capture stage that uses 120 infrared sensors and 140 cameras to capture 3D images of extraordinary resolution and detail.
For more information on the documentary or to arrange an interview with the creators, please contact Amiekay Richcrick at [email protected] or Ilena Parker at [email protected].
