World news story: Polytech360 Festival

The festival programme includes a number of recent documentaries about ideas that have changed the world, talks by invited experts such as British artist and biologist Joe Davis, VR-zone and other interactive experiences devoted to one of the theme of techno-pessimism, techno-optimism and reality.

The Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Moscow is supporting the VR programme, which consists of seven films by directors from all over the world. Among them there are virtual tours of the Natural History Museum with David Attenborough, real-time landing on Mars and a ‘visual diary’ of a blind person.

The VR programme will take place at the Multimedia Art Museum (16 Ostozhenka).

For more detailed information please visit the Polytech360 website

VR programme

Techno-optimism

How would it be – to visit a future world as described by Arthur C. Clarke? How does a blind person perceive reality? And how will astronauts feel when they are about to land on Mars? Enjoy new experiences together with Polytech360 VR.

Notes On Blindness

In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, writer and theologian John Hull became totally blind. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassette. These original diary recordings form the basis of this project, a six-part interactive documentary using new forms of storytelling, gameplay mechanics and virtual reality to explore his cognitive and emotional experience of blindness.

Space Explorers

Space Explorers is a cinematic VR series about the new age of space exploration. Witness first-hand the lives of veteran and novice NASA astronauts alike as they navigate the trials and sacrifices of their training and missions. Explore the dynamics and camaraderie of space programs around the world and the collaboration between the public and private space agencies, and discover the latest advances and plans for deep space exploration.

I Saw The Future

In 1964, Arthur C. Clarke, co-writer of Stanley Kubrick’s on 2001: A Space Odyssey, reveals his vision of the future. By revisiting the signal transmitted by the first cathodic images, this VR experimental film literally plunges us into the sound and visual matrix at the heart of this archive. I Saw The Future allows spectators to submerge themselves in a three-dimensional space echoing the futurist predictions of a visionary and humanist scholar.

Techno-pessimism

Where the cyber wars and obsession take mankind? What if mould and mince are the only inhabitants of the post-apocalyptic world? Why do drones explore asteroids? Meet the dark side of technology at Polytech360 VR.

Remember

A story of a girl who is searching for memories of her beloved. Science fiction documentary about how technologies influence reality and human memory, which is more and more dependant on devices.

Zero Days VR

Based on the Participant Media feature-length documentary Zero Days by Alex Gibney, Zero Days VR introduces a new dimension to the original feature by telling the story from a perspective that wasn’t possible before the emergence of virtual reality. It explores the next chapter of modern warfare through the story of Stuxnet: the first cyber weapon in the world known to cause real-world physical damage. Audiences will be placed inside the invisible world of computer viruses experiencing the high stakes of cyber warfare at a human scale.

Planet

In a world in ruins, only fungi and mould grow in the middle of gigantic dried insects’ bodies. When a weather change occurs, rain irrigates the arid planet and floods it gradually. In the water springs an ecosystem, populated by giant carnivorous tadpoles.

Sonar 360

Created by Philipp Maas and Dominik Stockhausen, SONAR takes you on a journey into the depths of a large asteroid via a sprawling ancient cave system. As the experience begins, you find yourself drifting down a corridor towards the cockpit of a spacecraft. Beyond the windows is the asteroid, the only sunlit object in the vastness of space. The epic score from Alexander Maas enhances the experience and immediately reveals this is a professional production.

Children

Museums would be much more attractive if you could not only see things, but also touch them. Usually objects are behind glass, but a VR tour of the Natural History Museum with David Attenborough gives you the chance to play with all elements of the exhibits.

Hold The World With David Attenborough

An educational VR experience brings you face-to-face with Sir David Attenborough, the British broadcaster and world’s foremost naturalist, as he teaches you about a number of species going as far back as the Trilobite and as recent as the flea. It takes you to London’s Natural History Museum, and puts you in reach of a few rare specimens from its world-famous collection, letting you handle and resize the objects while Attenborough tells you about how the animals must have lived, eaten, breathed, and more.