"With the evolution of immersive experiences, I want to focus on the quality of interactions" - Philippe Bédard (FNC Explore)

2023-09-21

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montréal is one of the XR ecosystem’s regular events, through both its FNC Explore selection and a series of dedicated conferences at its Forum. With a new programmer this year, Philippe Bédard (whom you know for his collaboration with our magazine, or with Xn Québec and now SODEC in Canada), the festival renewed its interest towards immersive, narrative and installation works.

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Cover: IN SEARCH OF TIME de Pierre Zandrowicz, Matt Tierney

XR through the prism of academic research

Philippe Bédard – This year has been a time of great change for me. In addition to my new position with Festival Nouveau Cinéma as programmer of the section dedicated to new media works, I joined SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles). This all feeds back into my continuing postdoctoral research (CRSH 2022-2024), dedicated to immersive exhibition spaces and their capacity for immersion – The continuation of previous research interests in film studies, which finally refocused on new media. It was only natural that I became interested in the ability of XR in particular to put us in the shoes of a character. My career path has been shaped by FNC for a long time, and this year I am checking off a bucket list item of putting together a program of XR works for the general audience.

P. B. – The Canadian scene, and Quebec specifical, is very strong when it comes to XR. Many studios are based here. I often have to take a step back to better appreciate how this national ecosystem fits within a global context. Québec has the opportunity – creatively, in terms of funding, etc. – to stand alongside leading countries such as France, Taiwan, etc. The FNC is itself the longest-running film festival in Canada (now in its 52nd edition), and remains one of Canada’s major cultural events (+200 films presented each year). It is in this context that the XR section has existed for nearly 8 years.

FNC Explore, 9e édition

P. B. – For our 2023 edition, we received over 100 submissions – in addition to those I sought out myself – for a final selection of 18 projects. One of them is a feature film, V F C by C.S. Roy, presented at Cannes Next 2023 – which uses a brainwave sensor to modulate the film’s soundtrack according to audience reactions. It is co-programmed between FNC Explore and the feature film section Les Nouveaux Alchimistes.

P. B. – This year the FNC Explore is essentially dedicated to virtual reality, with a separation between interactive and non-interactive formats. But it is obviously the story that remains our main focus, even if the technical aspects are impressive in and of themselves. For example, we will welcome MENEATH: THE MIRRORS OF ETHICS (Terril Calder) which uses stop motion and mirrors to create an optical illusion, or IN SEARCH OF TIME (Pierre Zandrowicz, Matt Tierney), a short film made using AI tools. All this contributes to the exploration of cinema and audiovisual media by incorporating innovations. This year, I focused on interactivity, making sure it wasn’t just a gimmick, but rather a real contribution to the story and experience.

P. B. – There is clearly a trend among XR creators around the environment and ecological concerns. We will welcome OKAWARI by Landia Egal and Amaury La Burthe, which challenges us on eco-production topics and wishes to raise useful awareness. We will have a conference on this topic at the same time, where they will intervene via their new research project CEPIR.

P. B. – Most of the projects received are virtual reality content, with a real maturity in the narrative used. FNC is first and foremost a film festival, and the storytelling aspect is important to us – whether it is purely narrative, or in the process of a more experimental work. Our audience still mainly consists of cinephiles, and our educational mission is essential in giving them access to this type of work. In this sense, we are working to make the exhibit more accessible, free to access and more streamlined, with fewer complex installations. It is a necessary compromise to offer spectators a gateway to these new universes, while taking into account the logistical constraints of the events.