Virtual reality is the final frontier of filmmaking, a brave new immersive world that the industry has only begun to map. Technological limitations have made the format impractical for widespread consumer use, but major film festivals have recently begun to offer special sidebars where curious parties can come and sample the latest in VR gadgetry, bearing witness to a strange and exciting future of this evolving art. And so perhaps it was inevitable that as the means caught up to the filmmaking community’s fantastical imaginations, the virtual reality phenomenon would take on a life of its own and eventually command a specialized film festival. The future is now — er, or rather, March 1.
That’s the first date for the inaugural run of the Kaleidoscope World Tour, a traveling film festival programmed entirely from movies and art produced using virtual reality. Already the largest online community of directors and artists experimenting with the new technology, Kaleidoscope wanted to show off the best, most innovative and challenging works that this fresh experience has made possible. The good folks at Indiewire have compiled the full programming slate of what will be the world’s first virtual reality film festival, and the tour dates are listed below — unfortunately, North Americans will have to sit tight a bit longer or pony up for a pricey plane ticket, because the tour is currently slated only to work through Europe and Asia before a quick stop in Australia. Nothing like this has been attempted since the relatively recent advent of virtual reality as a workable filmmaking mode. This could be the opening salvo of a full-on VR renaissance, a slow-moving sea change that could very well put VR movie theaters in our own neighborhoods, or living rooms.
Paris, France – Tuesday, March 1 (La Gaîté lyrique)
Tel Aviv, Israel – Saturday, March 5 (Amiad Center)
London, England – Tuesday, March 8 (Studio Spaces E1)Stockholm, Sweden – Saturday, March 12 (The Brewery Conference Center Stockholm)
Cologne, Germany – Friday, March 18 (Flora Köln, Am Botanischen Garten 1a)
Berlin, Germany – Tuesday, March 22 (Jewish Museum of Berlin)
Amsterdam, Netherlands – Friday, March 25 (The EYE Film Museum)
Pangyo, South Korea – Thursday, March 31 (Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (CCEI))
Tokyo, Japan – Wednesday, April 6 (Terratoria)
Melbourne, Australia – Wednesday, April 12 (Melbourne Meat Market)
