Immerse\Interact – 13 projects selected

Immerse\Interact focuses on the crossover between film, design, and digital culture. Artistic research and experiment in the field of digital storytelling and the use of interactive or immersive media play a central role.

The foblowing nine projects are receiving a development contribution:

Mask Maker and the Tree – Abner Preis en producent Institute of Time B.V. (photo above)
Combining VR and interactive performance, Mask Maker and the Tree depicts the idea of happiness and its blind costs, as the participants take an active role and play the group of villagers who go on a difficult journey to find a tree to cut down for the sake of their own happiness.

The Hongkongers Project – Yan Ting Yuen, Doris Yeung en producent Docmakers B.V.
The Hongkongers Project is an immersive and interactive digital project that aims to explore and construct the preservation of Hong Kong’s identity in the cyberspace of the diaspora, before it disappears forever.

De Mars – Frieda Gustavs, Cris Mollee, Malou Minkjan en maker en producent Leo Erken
De Mars is the second part of a virtual-reality triptych on the themes of women’s rights, war and power. DE MARS invites visitors to think about war.

"A.'' – makers Tatiana Ros, Thomas Brand, Jerzy Bielski en producent Thomas Brand
A modern hermit turns away from society and retreats to the open sea, where he is plagued by visions of the world he wants to leave behind. When he tries to flee from the confrontation with his own ideas, he becomes more and more deeply entangled in the chambers of his subconscious.

Inwards – Steye Hallema, Paul Staring en producent WildVreemd
Inwards is a virtual journey through the landscape of your own subconscious, based on ancient knowledge. Do you dare to know what you actually already knew?

Waiting for Cows – Klasien van de Zandschulp, Nathalie Dixon en producent CCC B.V.
Waiting for Cows is an immersive experience in the form of a data-driven installation and a culinary event. The project tells the intimate story of the care involved and the loss of Dutch dairy farming, and places the cow at the centre.

Otherworlds – Sofia Bulgakova en producent Stichting FIBER
Otherworlds is een multidimensionale interactieve performance binnen virtuele en fysieke realiteiten. Het is ontstaan uit een artistiek onderzoek naar Oekraïense tradities en combineert heidendom uit verschillende culturen en andere omringende magische praktijken met de hedendaags discours over visuele cultuur en technologie, en biedt een transformerend, meeslepend ritueel.

Beautify – maker en producent Isaura Sanwirjatmo
Beautify explores the background to the new, feminine ideal of beauty, created by Instagram filters, influencers and plastic surgery, which has led young women around the world to pursue identical looks. By means of this project, Sanwirjatmo aims to place this phenomenon in a larger social and socio-economic context.

ROAMance – Stanislaw Liguzinski, Ibrahim Quraish en producent Revolver Amsterdam B.V.
ROAMance is a VR experience that forms deep connections in a world dominated by the superficiality of dating apps. It celebrates the encounter and encourages attention by placing the user on an exciting virtual walk with a perfect stranger whose characteristics they must figure out based on their interactions alone.

Four projects are receiving a realization contribution:

Metamorphosis – Camiel Schouwenaar, Raimond Reijmers en producent Happy Ship B.V.
The VR experience Metamorphosis is a surreal trip full of visual finds. The player steps into the role of Gregor Samsa and changes from human to insect without any explanation. Kafka’s literary classic has been transformed into a multidimensional cinematic experience.

SoulPaint – Niki Smit, Sarah Ticho en producent Monobanda
SoulPaint is a VR project in which participants can discover, meet and choreograph their own emotions, powered by the combination of compelling storytelling, neuroscience and a game. Players use a range of creative tools to express their emotional experience on a 3D body and physically express their emotions.

Eigengrau – Zalán Szakács
Eigengrau is an immersive cinematic experience, a ritual in total darkness that uses light, mist, sound, smell and movement. A custom-made LED circle creates a perceptual cylinder of light in the space. Szakács will experiment with illusions, perception and cognitive experiences – further enhancing the immersive nature of the work in a 360° total environment.

Shadowtime – Kathryn Hamilton, Deniz Tortum en producent Institute of Time B.V.
Shadowtime is a VR experience that explores the relationship between computation, virtual worlds, and climate change. Shadowtime reflects on our efforts to create a virtual replica of reality in the midst of real-world ecological collapse, and how virtual reality technology stands in for and distracts from loss and absence in the physical world.

deadline

The next deadline for Immerse\Interact is 30 August 2022.

Makers can additionally support their projects by applying for Immerse\Interact XL by the same deadline. The XL grants can be used for activities to realize high international ambitions, add production value and provide space for groundbreaking media research in an international context. New projects, but also projects with international potential that have already received a development or realization contribution from Immerse\Interact can submit an application.

contact

In good time before submitting a proposal for both grant schemes, it is advisable to contact the grant scheme coordinator Joris van Ballegooijen at the Creative Industries Fund NL or project supervisor Nienke Doekes at the Netherlands Film Fund. Both grant schemes fall under the subsidy regulations of the Netherlands Film Fund.