Head of the new media section (Explore) of the Nouveau Cinéma festival in Montreal since 2016, Katayoun Dibamehr reveals the first information about the 2021 edition (from October 6 to 17 on site and online) – including the creation of an international co-productions market that will welcome immersive projects.
COVER: ELIZA by Léa Ducré
Le Nouveau Cinéma 2021 – Section Explore
Katayoun Dibamehr – This year the festival is hybrid. For virtual reality, everything will be presented at the Phi Center. But we open our Explore section to other types of works, not only VR, and notably outdoor installations visible on building facades in downtown Montreal (Griffintown…). We are accompanied by the Quebec collective Iregular (link) for 4 gigantic proposals. We will also propose one of the augmented reality experiences of the French Adrien M and Claire B, FAUNE, co-created with the Brest Brest Brest collective around black and white posters to be animated.
K. D. – We want to get out of the imperative of virtual reality projects, and show the multiplicity of new interactive works – on computer, mobile, instagram. In particular, we will have two projects from Cinétévé, including the A.I. with ELIZA (prototype) and the interactive film REPUBLIC. Then there is our immersive selection including the Horizon and Panorama sections – which will be presented at the Phi Center from September 6 to 17. Overall the quality of the projects is very interesting; we see some impressive emerging projects, especially from Asia (Taiwan…) for 2021. The assertion of some artists is particularly interesting to follow, with more and more hybrid projects that demonstrate the strength of VR storytelling.
VR Projects – Panorama :
VR Projects – Horizon :
- Icarus
- End of Night
- Goliath: Playing With Reality
- Bystanding: The Feingold Syndrome
- Marco & Polo Go Round
- Madrid Noir
Outdoor Installations :
Interactive Projects :
International Coproduction Market – The Selection
K. D. – We made the section with Jolinde den Hass and the help of the IFFR festival in Rotterdam (Cinémart), with a prize of 5000 Canadian dollars. Our jury is composed of Myriam Achard (PHI), Emily Page (E.D. FILMS) and Tamara Shogaolu (Ado Ato Pictures). For this first year we have invited projects, but a wider call will be made for the 2022 edition – This is a project we wanted to initiate 2 years ago but the health crisis slowed us down.
