Ewa Invited To VR Days Programme At Cannes

Johan Knattrup Jensen and Mads Damsbo, from the production company Makropol, have been invited to join the NEXT VR Days programme at Cannes which explores the future of cinema. Jensen and Damsbo are to present an eight minute preview of their VR feature, Ewa, entitled Ewa: Out Of Body.

Wearing a VR headset, you look at the world through Ewa’s eyes, and the feature length movie will follow Ewa from birth through childhood and into adulthood where, to become a free woman, she must confront her greatest enemy: her mother (Danica Curcic).

In an interview with the DFI, Jensen said: “In Ewa, we want to create a cinematic experience of being another person. Ewa is a woman with a strong will. Through her, we experience a story about setting yourself free as a person, no matter the cost. She’s a complex individual and hides a few demons deep inside that she has to find the courage to confront.

“The film at this point is no longer something that hangs on the wall. It’s a world you slip into. You get another physique, another way of moving. You might even start thinking differently. The experience is powerful and you forget yourself, completely.”

“You feel controlled. Like you’re a prisoner in your own body. That’s how Ewa feels. You’re a passenger, a witness. On the one hand, it can be a relief not to be responsible for your own life. On the other hand, it’s claustrophobic. You want to get out, be free.”

Michel Reilhac, Artistic Consultant for VR Days, told Screen Daily: “This first-ever VR Days at NEXT in Cannes proposes a panorama of the incredible diversity of the international VR landscape. 2016 is the birth year of VR as a new media accessible for everyone.”

“I am amazed to see how artists, film-makers, animators, illustrators, writers… are already grasping the platform and contributing to the creation of a new language: the immersive storytelling where the spectator experiences empathy with the story, where the story becomes a total experience.”

“This rich diversity is making virtual reality as a new art form. The VR Days prolific programme is the witness of its birth.”

The VR Days programme will take place at the NEXT Pavilion, Cannes on May 15th and 16th 2016.