Despite winning an Oscar for The Revenant, a major Hollywood production, Alejandro Iñárritu is still dedicated to experimental film. So he’s turning to ILM and virtual reality to make a short film about getting across the American border as an illegal immigrant.
Iñárritu is teaming up again with master cinematographer Emanuel Lubezki, who handled Birdman and The Revenant, and ILM’s newly formed VR division in order to create a short about getting over the border. There isn’t much detail about the plot, but considering how harrowing some of Iñárritu’s movies can be, it’s safe to say this likely won’t be a walk in the park.
Still, it’s an interesting experiment. The entire idea behind VR is that it’s “immersive,” that you’re completely in the shoes of your character, so it might be an exercise in empathy. It also marks just the latest filmmaker to dip their toes into VR, with Steven Spielberg working in the medium and even documentary work being done in the form. That said, a good VR headset can cost $600 or more, and it’s not really clear how much of an audience VR film has or how they’ll watch the movies filmmakers produce in the medium. Still, if nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see what filmmakers do with it as it matures.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
