This yearâs Sundance Film Festival going virtual has no doubt been a godsend for accessibility. Countless world class films, previously confined to snowy Park City, are temporarily made available to anyone in the country, anywhere, including my cramped apartment in Ridgewood, Queens. Despite the lack of a centralized on-site venue for New Frontier, the festivalâs annual virtual reality and new media showcase, the Sundance Institute overhauled their interface in order to support a platform perfectly suited for innovative works at the intersection of moving image and burgeoning technology. One of the perks of being awarded this yearâs Press Inclusion Initiative fellowshipâaside from a standard press pass and bragging rights (of which I am eternally grateful!)âis receiving a complimentary Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. A week before the festival started, I received a brand-new Oculus in the mail like it was a tipsy late-night online shopping purchase. When the initi
Social Justice and Technology Take Center Stage at Sundance Film Festival
This year’s Sundance Film Festival may have been shorter and with far less fanfare and frills than years past, but that didn’t stop dozens of feature films, events, and exhibitions from shining. This year’s festival was largely remote, allowing viewers to tune in from virtually anywhere in the world.
Rather than a traditional Main Street experience, visitors could stop by a “virtual Main Street,” complete with virtual lodges and events.
The festival’s iconic New Frontiers exhibit relied heavily on virtual reality to immerse visitors in this year’s cutting-edge works of art that ranged from a social-media expose about the rich kids of Iran to the possible future of using AI as….counselors.
The plump, mustachioed and vest-wearing Frank Bourassa looks genial enough, especially when he materializes as a tiny cartoon figure in your living room. He’s here, in augmented reality, to talk to us about money, seeking to raise questions about our own fiduciary responsibility or lack thereof.
But should we trust someone who claims he’s the “world’s greatest counterfeiter”? Add in the fact that he’s a cartoon, and maybe we should be on our guard or at least pay closer attention.
When it comes to examinations of the psychology of money there’s a human tendency to tune out, to think we know it all and avoid thinking about our own limits. This is why the augmented reality vignettes of “Fortune!,” designed to be watched on a smartphone or tablet, aim to superimpose themselves on our world, to disrupt it with humor.
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