EMPEROR, an interactive virtual reality narrative experience directed by Marion Burger and Ilan J. Cohen, is available for free on Meta Quest 2 and 3.
After numerous selections and awards winning at prestigious festivals like Venice, Annecy, Numix, SXSW, Siggraph or Anifilm, EMPEROR has reached another milestone, being a finalist in the Emmy Awards Competition for Outstanding Emerging Media.
EMPEROR offers a 40 minutes empathetic and poetic journey into the mind of a man suffering from aphasia. Inspired by the personal story of co-creator Marion Burger and her father, it is the tale of a daughter seeking to untangle the hidden meanings behind her father’s confused words through a surreal journey.
From the start, we knew that EMPEROR would not be a documentary, but rather a poetic interpretation of what I experienced with my father, who has been affected by aphasia for fifteen years. The project was born out of a need to understand him and to get inside his head. We realized that virtual reality was the best medium to convey this perspective exchange, which is at the heart of the project.
Directors Marion Burger and Ilan J. Cohen
The narrators are actresses Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon, Slow Horses, Ready Player One, Sound of Metal) for the English version and Vimala Pons (La loi de la jungle, Les Garçons Sauvages, Elle, The Wild Boys) for the French version. The original music is composed by Jamie Turner (Hēran Soun) and cellist Gaspar Claus.
Produced by the production company ATLAS V, the work is co-produced by the German production company Reynard Films, France Télévisions’ immersive program unit Francetv StoryLab. The Lyon-based studio Albyon handled its visual and technical development.
EMPEROR is neither a film nor a video game but a bit of both, and that’s exactly what we try to create at Atlas V and Albyon: a new form of storytelling, uniquely leveraging the possibilities of the medium. I’m extremely delighted that this powerful experience is available worldwide, for free.
Producer Oriane Hurard
EMPEROR also received financial support from CNC, FFF Bayern, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, Creative Europe MEDIA , Medienboard Berlin-Brandeburg, Beaumarchais Orange XR Grant, Sud Region, Procirep-Angoa, Audiens Generations Foundation, SLM and Pico.
