Tribeca Immerse VR 2020

This your last day to check out the Tribeca VR films for free on Oculus headsets. This year due to COVID-19, the Tribeca VR folks teamed with Oculus to release several of the VR films they programmed for free through Oculus headsets. The Quest had them easy to find under TV while the Go it was kind of buried in a home menu playlist.

It was nice being able to sit back and watch these from the comfort of my home with my Quest and sound proof Bose. I watched with a swivel chair and made sure to break up the films so the headset wouldn’t get too hot. On the Quest, they broke up the films into different programs which made it easier to show to my wife and daughter after. On the Go, I heard reports the films disappear right after watching so you might want to broadcast it to a TV if you’re trying to show a friend.

Animation dominated the festival this year with of the 15 films including some time of animation. Below are my reviews of each film starting with my favorites.

USA, Philippines / 8 minutes

Lutaw is a beautifully animated film that takes place in remote area of the Philippines. In the short, a young girl named Geramy must swim between the small islands in order to travel to the nearest school. She is determined to find a better way to commute and finds some creative ways to travel. This 3D animated experience was made in partnership with Oculus VR for Good and Yellow Boat of Hope.

The director Samantha Quick who comes from a journalism background working with the New York Times on 360 documentaries traveled to the Philippines to photograph some of the specific details she wanted to incorporate into the film. She also decided the animation team she was going to work with had to be based in the Philippines in order to keep the film authentic. The result is a piece that reminded me a lot of the early Pixar shorts in terms of it’s mainstream appeal while also educating viewers about the difficulties faced by young children. I think it is bound to catch the attention of Oscar voters if they pick up their VR headsets!

Samantha also developed one of my favorite VR experiences from Sundance 2020 called Still Here which is a 6DOF piece about incarceration.

Taiwan / Runtime: 16 minutes

This inventive short film puts you in the body of a great grandmother as your family gathers at their old home in the summer afternoon.

The film is a one shot POV experience that shows the viewer what it’s like to get old and be alone. You start out alone watching a show on TV. No longer able to move, react, or hear clearly, you experience life through those around you. As the family members come and go, you know they will all inevitably leave you and by the end you are alone again.

USA / 13 minutes

Shot in my local Berkeley Tilden park, this film follows a newlywed nomad and his wife bask in the flush of new love. He falls asleep then awakens to discover his wife has disappeared. Embarking on a quest to find her, he’s led into a life he never dreamed of — one that soon slips beyond his control.

The performances were very realistic along with the great set design which is harder to accomplish with 360 films. Also, on the Zoom call I learned from the actress she had never acted in VR before but was immediately able to pick it up due to the excellent direction by Carol Liu who is currently working on a new project with assistance from SFFILM.

USA / 8 minutes

This short animated VR experience created by Van Phan transports you back to school and what it’s like to witness bullying first hand. Using backpacks to personify students Phan puts you into the shoes of a bystander who decides it’s time to stand up.

USA / 3 minutes

Dear Lizzy is easily one of the most memorable experiences due to it’s psychedelic inspired imagery. Immediately I sensed a comparison to the animation style popularized by the Grateful Dead Movie. Although only 3 minutes long the images from this piece will stick with you for days.

South Korea / 10 minutes

This film has it all machete welding rabbits, silly action sequences, and a giant cat. The experience, which feels like a weird hybrid between Michael Gondry and David Lynch, is both hilarious and horrifying. You follow the dad of a young girl who is too tired to play with her. He falls asleep to wake upside her doll house. I especially enjoyed how half of the film was in 3D while the non-dream portion is in monoscopic 360.

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