The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, announced today that Tribeca Immersive, an incubator for innovation and a global stage where top VR creators debut their latest work, will showcase more than 30 cinematic and cutting-edge virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality experiences by artists who are pushing the boundaries of storytelling with technology. Tribeca Immersive encompasses two events that run the duration of the Festival, Virtual Arcade, presented by AT&T, and Tribeca Cinema360. The Tribeca Film Festival takes place from April 24th to May 5th.

Visitors to the Virtual Arcade will encounter a lineup of 22 compelling VR, AR, and MR experiences and exhibits from new and established artists, with Tribeca Cinema360 featuring 12 curated screenings in a custom VR theater. Immersive attendees will be transported to places they’ve never been before, from a time-warping dream bubble (Future Dreaming, pictured below) to an alien jungle (Bonfire). Attendees will get to ride on the back of a jellyfish to experience the wonders of the deep and then see the impact of pollution from a vitally different perspective (A Drop in the Ocean). The Festival will premiere the first Doctor Who experience in VR, Doctor Who: The Runaway, voiced by the current and first woman Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, and also present a one-of-a-kind collaboration with popular historian/podcaster Dan Carlin and MWM Immersive that transports attendees to a WWI battlefield with stunning realism (War Remains).

"Tribeca Immersive remains committed to the power of new technology as a dynamic vehicle for storytelling," said Loren Hammonds, Senior Programmer, Film & Immersive for the Tribeca Film Festival. “This year’s programming spans a myriad of genres, including many world premiere VR, MR, and AR experiences.”

Numerous projects in this year’s program address relevant cultural issues, including gun control (12 Seconds of Gunfire: The True Story of a School Shooting, pictured below), gentrification (Common Ground), pollution and conservation (A Drop in the Ocean), and the persecution of the LGBTQIA community (Another Dream). Throughout the exhibition, Tribeca welcomes bleeding-edge creativity and top tech innovations, many of which signal the future of location-based entertainment.

At this year’s Virtual Arcade, the Storyscapes juried selections present new trends and innovative work across mediums that integrate various forms of audience participation, with interactive installations focused on emotion and the human experience. The Storyscapes Award, presented by AT&T, honors artists who bridge the gap between technology and storytelling. This year, four of the five experiences up for the award were made by women creators.

Tribeca Immersive includes innovative experiences from creators such as Eric Darnell and Baobab Studios (Bonfire), Jessica Brillhart (Into The Light), Jan Kounen and producers Atlas V (Ayahuasca), Celine Tricart (The Key), Clyde Henry and Felix & Paul Studios (Gymnasia), Adam May (A Drop In The Ocean), Dan Carlin and MWM Immersive (War Remains) and Fable Studios' Pete Billington and Jessica Yaffa Shamash (Wolves in the Walls: It’s All Over). Other notable names involved with projects include comedian Ali Wong (Bonfire), actors Jeffrey Wright and Noah Schnapp (Wolves In The Walls: It’s All Over), and musician Yo-Yo Ma (Into The Light).

“It has been a wild ride seeing how artists and filmmakers have responded to new technologies over the years, constantly pushing and prodding and exploring the edges of things in order to make beautiful and vital work,” said Ingrid Kopp, co-curator of Tribeca Immersive.

VIRTUAL ARCADE

Sponsored by AT&T. 17 projects from nine countries, with 15 world premieres, make up this dynamic program.

2nd Civil War (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creator: Kevin Cornish
Key Collaborators: Moth + Flame, Conversive, Pollution Studios, Denis Sharabarin

2nd Civil War has broken out in America. In this voice-activated VR experience, you will drop into an Insurgent Hot Zone, interrogate the inner circle of the insurgency and decide: which side are you on?

7 Lives (World Premiere) – France, Luxembourg, Belgium
Project Creator: Charles Ayats, Sabrina Calvo, Jan Kounen
Key Collaborator: Franck Weber, Céline Tricart, Marie Blondiaux, Adrien Oumhani

An afternoon in June. Tokyo. 5 p.m. A girl jumps in front of the subway. Her soul rises from the rails. On the platform, the witnesses of the scene are in shock. It revived a trauma in them, painful memories they never overcame

Ayahuasca (World Premiere) – France, Luxembourg
Project Creator: Jan Kounen
Key Collaborators: Guillermo Arévalo Valera – Shaman, Antoine Cayrol, Marion Guth, Vincent Guttman, Nicolas Becker, Nicolas Blies, Stéphane Hueber-Blies

Participants are immersed in visions triggered by a dose of ayahuasca. The spectator lives this through director Jan Kounen’s eyes as he travels on a spiritual voyage.

Bonfire (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creator: Eric Darnell, Baobab Studios
Key Collaborators: Maureen Fan, Larry Cutler, Kane Lee, Shannon Ryan, Ali Wong

Nice job. You’ve crashed your spaceship into an alien jungle. Your instincts, nourishment cylinders, and a wary robot sidekick are all you have for survival… or so you think. With Ali Wong.

Cave (US Premiere) – USA
Project Creator: Ken Perlin, Kris Layng, Sebastian Herscher
Key Collaborator: Jess Bass, Ryan Shore, Google Daydream, Bose

Cave is a coming-of-age story told through cutting edge Parallux technology, featuring a fully immersive holographic VR experience that can be shared by many audience members at once.

Children Do Not Play War (World Premiere) – Uganda, Brazil, USA
Project Creator: Fabiano Mixo

Children Do Not Play War is a cinematic VR tale of the war in Uganda told through the eyes of a young girl. Also playing in the program Cinema360: Her Truth, Her Power.

Common Ground (World Premiere) – UK
Project Creator: Darren Emerson
Key Collaborators: Ashley Cowan, Conan Roberts

Explore the notorious Aylesbury Estate, concrete monument to the history and legacy of social housing in the UK, and home to a community affected by forces beyond their control.

Doctor Who: The Runaway (World Premiere) – UK
Project Creator: BBC / Passion Animation Studios
Key Collaborator: Mathias Chelebourg

Step inside the TARDIS with the Doctor in this beautiful, animated, interactive story from the Doctor Who team. With Jodie Whittaker, Richard Elfyn.

A Drop in the Ocean (World Premiere) – UK, France, USA
Project Creator: Adam May, Chris Campkin, Chris Parks
Key Collaborators: Philippe Cousteau, Ashlan Cousteau, Vision3, Conservation International

Discover a miniature universe at the heart of our survival. Become part of a Social VR adventure through the ocean food chain, to reveal a crisis of our making.

Ello (World Premiere) – China
Project Creator: Haodan Su
Key Collaborators: Zhiyuan Ma, Hao Luo

Ello is a sweet story about loneliness and friendship. When people expect friendship or love, proactively pursuing rather than passively waiting might lead to a surprising end.

Gymnasia (World Premiere) – Canada
Project Creator: Clyde Henry Productions
Key Collaborators: The National Film Board of Canada and Felix & Paul Studios

Step into a dream, where the ghostly ephemera of a lost childhood await you.

Into the Light (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creators: Jessica Brillhart, Igal Nassima
Key Collaborator: Yo-Yo Ma

Ascend Spring Studios and move through the movements of Johann Sebastian Bach's “Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor,” performed by the legendary Yo-Yo Ma.

Stealing Ur Feelings (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creator: Noah Levenson
Key Collaborators: Brett Gaylor

Stealing Ur Feelings is an AR experience about the power of facial emotion recognition AI that exploits your reaction to its own content in horrifying ways.

Unceded Territories (World Premiere) – Canada/USA
Project Creators: Paisley Smith and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun
Key Collaborators: Ketsia Vedrine, Peter Denny, Patrick Weekes, and Jason Legge

Through infectious interaction, build a natural world made up of the colorful, surrealist art of acclaimed First Nations painter Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, until you are confronted by Colonialist Snake, who forces you to see the truth behind your actions.

War Remains (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creators: Dan Carlin and MWM Immersive
Key Collaborators: Brandon Oldenburg, Ethan Stearns, Flight School Studio, and Skywalker Sound

Podcast legend Dan Carlin employs the unique power of virtual reality to transport audiences into one of the most extreme battlefields in history: the Western Front of The First World War.

Where There's Smoke (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creator: Lance Weiler
Key Collaborators: Peter English, Julia Pontecorvo, and Dale Worstall

Where There’s Smoke mixes documentary, immersive theater, and an escape room to explore memory and loss. Set within the aftermath of a blaze, participants work to determine the cause of a tragic fire by sifting through the charred remains. This two-part experience begins at the Virtual Arcade and concludes at 359 Canal Street.

Wolves in the Walls: It's All Over (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creators: Pete Billington, Jessica Yaffa Shamash
Key Collaborators: Fable, Facebook Sound+Design, Third Rail Projects, Oculus Studios, Edward Saatchi, and Chris Hanson

Transport into the magic of VR cinema, where only you can help Lucy discover what’s truly hiding inside the walls of her house. With Jeffrey Wright, Noah Schnapp, Elizabeth Carena, Cadence Goblirsch.

STORYSCAPES

Sponsored by AT&T. The competition includes four world premieres and one International premiere. One Storyscapes nominee will be selected by a jury to receive the Storyscapes Award, presented by AT&T, which recognizes groundbreaking approaches in storytelling and technology. The five projects come from Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Netherlands, UK, and USA.

Another Dream (حلم آخر) (World Premiere) – Netherlands, USA, Egypt
Project Creators: Tamara Shogaolu and Ado Ato Pictures
Key Collaborators: Lauren Dubowski, Natalya Sarch, Nada El-Kouny, Anastasia Semenoff (alpha_rats), Martijn Zandvliet, Gata Mahardika, Ytje Veenstra, and Audioimmersive.com

Another Dream brings to life the gripping, true story of an Egyptian lesbian couple. Faced with a post-Revolution backlash against their community, they must choose between love and home.

The Collider (North American Premiere) – UK
Project Creator: Anagram

Enter The Collider, a machine built to decipher the mysteries of human relationships. The Collider is an immersive virtual and theatrical experience exploring power, dependency, and the space between people.

Future Dreaming (World Premiere) – Australia
Project Creator: Sutu
Key Collaborators: Charles Henden, Alison Lockyer, Maverick Eaton, Maxie Coppin, and Nelson Coppin

Step into a time-warping dream bubble as four young Aboriginal Australians approach their futures. Be ready for an intergalactic adventure. Look out for the space emus!

The Key (World Premiere) – USA, Iraq
Project Creator: Celine Tricart
Key Collaborator: Gloria Bradbury

An interactive VR experience taking the viewer on a journey through memories. Will they be able to unlock the mystery behind the mysterious Key without sacrificing too much?

Traitor (World Premiere) – UK
Project Creators: Pilot Theatre and Lucy Hammond
Key Collaborators: Matt Stuttard Parker, Richard Hurford, Rebecca Saw, Lydia Denno, and Jonathan Eato

Eight hours ago, teenager Emma McCoy vanished. All she left behind was a game. Now it's the viewer’s job to find her.

TRIBECA CINEMA360

Change is Gonna Come

12 Seconds of Gunfire: The True Story of a School Shooting (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creators: Suzette Moyer and Seth Blanchard
Key Collaborator: John Woodrow Cox, Wesley Allsbrook, and The Washington Post

After a gunman shoots her best friend on the playground, a first-grade girl confronts a journey of trauma and loss after the Townville, South Carolina, school shooting.

Ashe '68 (New York Premiere) – USA
Project Creator: Brad Lichtenstein
Key Collaborators: Beth Hubbard, Rex Miller, and Jeff Fitzsimmons

Arthur Ashe emerged as an elite athlete who parlayed his fame as the first black man to win the US Open tennis championship into a lifetime devoted to fighting injustice.

Accused No. 2: Walter Sisulu (North American Premiere) – France
Project Creators: Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte
Key Collaborator: Oerd Van Cuijlenborg, Aurélien Godderis-Chouzenoux, Michaël Bolufer, and Jérémy Pouilloux

A trove of 256 hours of sound archives of the Rivonia trial bring back to life the political battle waged by Nelson Mandela and his seven co-defendants against apartheid. This film looks at one of them in particular: Accused No. 2, Walter Sisulu.

Go Team!

11.11.18 (World Premiere) – Belgium, France
Project Creators: Sébastien Tixador and Django Schreven
Key Collaborators: Boris Baum, Sébastien Plazeneix, and Antoine Sauwen

A few minutes before the suspension of fighting in World War on November 11th, 1918, soldiers have to face a series of decisions.

Space Buddies (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creators: Matt Jenkins and Ethan Shaftel
Key Collaborator: Piotr Karwas and Raul Dominguez

It takes a special team of astronauts to survive the voyage to Mars without going insane. This crew will be lucky to make it past launch.

Mr. Buddha (董仔的人) (International Premiere) – Taiwan R.O.C.
Project Creators: HTC Corporation and Lee Chung
Key Collaborators: HTC VIVE and the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee

The short crime story takes place in a car, following Dong-Tzu, Ching-Tsai, and Ni-Sang, who get their hands on a valuable antique only to have the fruits of their labor shared with the newcomer, A-Che.

Her Truth, Her Power

Mercy (New York Premiere) – USA, Cameroon
Project Creator: Armando Kirwin
Key Collaborators: Sutu, Ruben Plomp, Emma Debany, AMK LTD, and Oculus VR for Good

Edith, a 14-year-old from Cameroon, journeys through the jungle seeking life-transforming surgery to remove a tumor on her jaw.

Girl Icon (New York Premiere) – USA, India
Project Creator: Sadah Espii Proctor
Key Collaborators: Amy Seidenwurm, Skye Von, Paula Cuneo, Lauren Burmaster, Espii Studios, little GIANT Wolf, and Oculus VR for Good

Globally, over 130 million girls do not go to school. Step into the life of one girl from India who is inspired by Malala Yousafzai to change her course.

Children Do Not Play War (World Premiere) – Uganda, Brazil, USA
Project Creator: Fabiano Mixo
Key Collaborators: Amy Seidenwurm, VILD Studio, and Oculus VR for Good

Children Do Not Play War is a cinematic VR tale of the war in Uganda told through the eyes of a young girl. Also playing in the Virtual Arcade.

Such Sweet Sorrow

Armonia (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creator: Bracey Smith
Key Collaborators: Anja Moreno-Smith, Neil Dvorak, Sara K White, Josh Bernhard, Jacques Lalo, and Daniel Coletta

Armonia takes the ride of the dynamic original piano concerto "Armonia Degli Uccelli" and marries it to a universally accessible animation, to produce a uniquely layered spectacle of spatial storytelling.

Dreams of The Jaguar's Daughter (World Premiere) – USA, Mexico
Project Creator: Alfredo Salazar-Caro
Key Collaborators: Genesis Mancheren Abaj, Prashast Thapan, and Tarek Turkey

Dreams Of The Jaguar's Daughter is a surreal VR documentary where Achik', the spirit of a young Maya immigrant, guides the viewer through her memories of an arduous journey north.

Water Melts (World Premiere) – USA
Project Creators: Lilian Mehrel and Mary Evangelista
Key Collaborators: Ting Liu, Maya Edelman, and Ariel Marx

A blue-hearted rom-com about people who are going to lose someone they love. Nobody knows what to say, so they bicker, laugh/cry, get married. It's a romantic comedy, after all.

Tickets for the 2019 Tribeca Immersive Program

Tribeca Immersive takes place in the Tribeca Festival Hub located at Spring Studios at 50 Varick Street. Admission to presentations of the Virtual Arcade featuring Storyscapes is $40. Screening tickets for Tribeca Cinema360 screenings are $15.

Tickets can be purchased online beginning March 26 or by telephone at (646) 502-5296 or toll-free at (866) 941-FEST (3378).

Packages and passes are now available for purchase on the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival App, on iTunes and Google Play.

Credentialing for the 18th annual Tribeca Film Festival is now open through March 7th, 2019. Apply here.