The winner of the Virtual Reality competition at the 29th Ji.hlava IDFF was announced. The Best VR Award went to The Exploding girl by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel.
The jury gave the following statement:
The work stands out for its layered metaphors of monstrosity and despair that reflect the challenges of women – and, more broadly, of the individual – in contemporary society. We recognized the film’s immersive and imaginative world, open to multiple readings, which drew on popular culture artifacts without resorting to straightforward intertextual references, and which evocatively conveys themes of loneliness and isolation.
The first special mention went to the film Shelter by director Sjors Swierstra and co-director Ivanna Khitsinska.
The jury gave the following statement:
We were impressed by the direct depiction of a reality often only perceived through the media. We particularly resonated with the scenes that allow viewers to feel the Ukrainian lived experiences of the people filmed and the deliberate claustrophobic emotions the technology enhances.
The second special mention went to the poetic interactive VR experience Trans-composition by director Shiuan Yan.
The jury gave the following statement:
We particularly enjoyed the interplay of light and shadow and its deep connection to the author’s culture and its symbolic underpinnings. The ties to idealized and rarefied personal memories that become, in turn, universal. The intricacies of an architecture that mirrors the intricacies of the self. And the narrator's voice that guides you throughout on a journey of amazement and wonder.
